Progress in Glucose‐Sensitive Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is one of the key diseases of clinical concern that can lead to a variety of serious complications and it is characterized by increased blood glucose levels. Glucose‐sensitive hydrogel is gaining attention as a smart hydrogel capable of sensing glucose molecules for diabetes and related complications. In order to better understand this hydrogel, this paper reviews its basic design principles and focuses on the therapeutic efficacy of this hydrogel in delivering insulin, drugs, and bioactives for diabetes and diabetes‐related complications. Its use as a biosensing device for glucose measurement in body fluids and dynamic monitoring of wounds is also presented, and its potential application in the treatment of diabetes and related diseases is highly summarized.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Recent Insights into Glucose-Responsive Concanavalin A-Based Smart Hydrogels for Controlled Insulin Delivery

“…Another classification of biosensors was conducted according to the principle of glucose recognition, as presented in Section 1. Usually, the biosensors are able to monitor the glucose from the blood but also from other biofluids (tears, saliva, interstitial fluid, sweat or urine), all representing suitable routes [2]. The main requirements for new approaches and devices proposed for glycemic control are minimal invasiveness, predictable improvements in clinical outcomes and a positive impact on patient health.…”

“…However, patients with diabetes still suffer due to different constraints. If the blood glucose level is not well controlled and maintained in the normal limits, below 100-125 mg/dL (5.6 mmol-6.9 mmol/L) in venous plasma, serious complications appear, such as diabetic foot ulcers [1,172], heart disease, kidney failure, cerebral infarction, atherosclerosis or blindness [2,173,174]. In order to minimize these complications, patients must monitor and self-regulate their blood glucose concentration by the continuous release of the required insulin amount.…”

“…Nature lessons can be applied to develop functional hydrogels by the physical and chemical modification of natural polymers and proteins, in particular Con A which is able to bind carbohydrates in a specific and reversible manner [180], or the development of environmentally friendly polymer networks [9]. The personalized treatment by using targeted pharmaceuticals is one of the quickly emerging strategies for overcoming problems in non-invasive glucose monitoring [2,136,137,139] and insulin delivery [3,4,6,8,135], particularly for high levels of glucose in the body.…”

“…Abnormal glucose metabolism is a metabolic disorder that causes diabetes, a disease that requires the close monitoring of blood glucose and clinical treatment by the daily adjustment of insulin doses while also making an appropriate dietary choice. In such cases, the long-term stabilization of the normal plasma glucose level becomes difficult to achieve, and various unwanted complications can appear [1][2][3]. Many efforts have been undertaken to improve diabetes management, mainly focused on continuous glucose monitoring and developing smart insulin delivery systems.…”

“…In the last few decades, the following categories of glucose-responsive systems have been developed [2,[8][9][10][11]:…”