In association with increasing diabetes prevalence, it is desirable to develop new glucose sensing systems with low cost, ease of use, high stability and good portability. Boronic acid is one of the potential candidates for a future alternative to enzyme-based glucose sensors. Boronic acid derivatives have been widely used for the sugar recognition motif, because boronic acids bind adjacent diols to form cyclic boronate esters. In order to develop colorimetric sugar sensors, boronic acid-conjugated azobenzenes have been synthesized. There are several types of boronic acid azobenzenes, and their characteristics tend to rely on the substitute position of the boronic acid moiety. For example, o-substitution of boronic acid to the azo group gives the advantage of a significant color change upon sugar addition. Nitrogen-15 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) studies clearly show a signaling mechanism based on the formation and cleavage of the B–N dative bond between boronic acid and azo moieties in the dye. Some boronic acid-substituted azobenzenes were attached to a polymer or utilized for supramolecular chemistry to produce glucose-selective binding, in which two boronic acid moieties cooperatively bind one glucose molecule. In addition, boronic acid-substituted azobenzenes have been applied not only for glucose monitoring, but also for the sensing of glycated hemoglobin and dopamine.

A xanthene derivative containing a borinate moiety emitted red fluorescence with a high quantum yield. The interaction between the borinate and a sugar molecule induced a fluorescence change based on the change in the HOMO-LUMO gap. The response was pH-resistant in a wide range. In addition, catechol quenched through photoinduced electron transfer. The red fluorescence and polyol binding ability of dyes will pave the way for new biological applications of chemical sensors.

A pseudopolyrotaxane (PPRX) comprising 3-carboxy-5-nitrophenylboronic acid modified γ-cyclodextrin (NPBA-γ-CyD) and naphthalene modified polyethylene glycol (Naph-PEG) as a sugar-responsive supramolecular structure is prepared. The binding of sugar by the NPBA group induced disintegration of the Naph-PEG/NPBA-γ-CyD PPRX, allowing the components to be dissolved. The Naph-PEG/NPBA-γ-CyD PPRX exhibited better sensitivity compared to that of a PPRX based on 4-carboxyphenylboronic acid modified γ-cyclodextrin (PBA-γ-CyD). We have previously reported the unique structure of Naph-PEG/PBA-γ-CyD PPRX, which formed an inclusion complex with a single-stranded PEG chain being threaded through the γ-CyD rings, with the remaining internal space being occupied by the sugar-sensing PBA moiety from a neighboring ring, thus shielding it from sugar molecules and reducing the sugar sensitivity of the PPRX. In contrast, structural analyses in this study revealed that the sugar-sensing NPBA moiety in the Naph-PEG/NPBA-γ-CyD PPRX is not included in the neighboring NPBA-γ-CyD. This spatial arrangement and the high affinity of NPBA for sugar contributed to the improved sugar responsivity. The enhanced NPBA-γ-CyD was then applied to a PPRX containing Naph-PEG-appended insulin (Naph-PEG-Ins) that showed an improved response for glucose-induced insulin release.

We have designed a pseudopolyrotaxane (PPRX), known as a molecular necklace, consisting of phenylboronic acid-modified γ-cyclodextrin (PBA-γ-CyD) and naphthalene-modified polyethylene glycol (Naph-PEG) for developing sugar-responsive insulin delivery systems. Interestingly, structural analyses show that the Naph-PEG/PBA-γ-CyD PPRX obtained by our method was single stranded, whereas ordinary PPRXs using parent γ-CyD were double stranded. The Naph-PEG/PBA-γ-CyD PPRX was poorly water soluble at pH 7.4; however, sugar addition induced disintegration of the PPRX, and the components were dissolved, suggesting that the PBA moiety acts as a sugar sensor. We also have developed a PPRX consisting of Naph-PEG-appended insulin (Naph-PEG-Ins) and PBA-γ-CyD and have confirmed that the release rate of Naph-PEG-Ins was accelerated following sugar addition.

We aimed to develop a high-throughput screening (HTS) system for preliminary predictions of human skin permeability by using an artificial membrane that can mimic the permeation behaviour of lipophilic and hydrophilic compounds across the human skin. In this study, we synthesized a copolymer containing poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 6000 and impregnated it onto a supportive membrane filter to prepare a PDMS/PEG 6000 copolymer-impregnated membrane. In addition, we synthesized another polymer without PEG units and used it to prepare an impregnated membrane for determining the role of PEG 6000 units in the PDMS/PEG 6000 copolymer-impregnated membrane. The permeation characteristics of the impregnated membranes were evaluated on the basis of the permeability coefficients of 12 model compounds with different lipophilicities, by using a 2-chamber diffusion cell, and these permeability coefficients were compared with those across the human skin. We obtained a good correlation between the permeability coefficients across the PDMS/PEG 6000 copolymer-impregnated membrane and human skin. Further, we evaluated the permeation characteristics of a 96-well plate model of the PDMS/PEG 6000 copolymer by using 6 model compounds. We obtained an ideal correlation between the permeability coefficients across the PDMS/PEG 6000 copolymer using a 96-well plate and those across the human skin. Thus, the PDMS/PEG 6000 copolymer would be a good candidate for preliminary evaluation of the permeability of lipophilic and hydrophilic compounds across the human skin.

Supramolecular structures were developed from phenylboronic acid-modified cyclodextrins (PBA-CyDs). The intermolecular interaction between the PBA moiety and the CyD cavity was proved using two dimensional (2D)-NMR and powder X-ray diffraction techniques. PBA-α-CyD formed a head-to-tail supramolecular polymer, whereas PBA-β-CyD formed a head-to-head dimer. The supramolecular structures were disintegrated in the presence of sugars owing to the resulting boronate sugar interactions.

A novel glucose (Glc)-responsive gel formed by worm-like micelles (WLMs) has the potential to provide a self-regulating insulin delivery system. We have prepared a WLM gel system using 75 mM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, 75 mM phenylboronic acid, and water. At pH 9.4, this gel-like system was highly viscous and supported its own weight, and dynamic viscoelasticity measurement indicated that it contained long and entangled WLMs. The visual observation of gels prepared to include >6 mM Glc revealed that these adopted a sol-like appearance, whereas those prepared to include a control compound (2-10 mM diethylene glycol) retained their gel-like appearance. The storage modulus ( G') of this system decreased as the Glc concentration increased (2-10 mM), indicating a gradual shortening of the WLMs. In vitro release was evaluated using a test compound (fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran) in a microsized flow system. By 120 min, the release of this compound from the WLM gel was around 27-fold greater in the presence of 100 mM Glc than without Glc or with 100 mM diethylene glycol. This demonstrated the successful preparation of a WLM gel that showed an altered drug release rate, depending on Glc concentration.

We have designed a sugar-responsive pseudopolyrotaxane (PPRX) by combining phenylboronic acid-modified polyethylene glycol (PBA–PEG) and γ-cyclodextrin. Phenylboronic acid (PBA) was used as a sugar-recognition motif in the PPRX because PBA reacts with a diol portion of the sugar molecule and forms a cyclic ester. When D-fructose or D-glucose was added to a suspension of PPRX, PPRX disintegrated, depending on the concentration of the sugars. Interestingly, catechol does not show a response although catechol has a high affinity for PBA. We analyzed the response mechanism of PPRX by considering equilibria.