Recent strategies and methods for improving insulin delivery

Abstract

Subcutaneous insulin has been used to treat diabetes since the discovery of insulin itself. However, despite a number of different formulations and routes of administration, intensive insulin therapy without limitations, such as too low bioavailability, has not enjoyed widespread clinical acceptance. Attempts to find effective, well-tolerated routes for delivering insulin began in the late 1920s and as of today, an ideal insulin delivery is still formidable. The most recent advances in insulin delivery are focused on using the inhalation route. The recent European filing of inhaled insulin (Exubera) is providing hope for alternative delivery routes, for example. This article reviews recent advances and approaches that hold promise toward the successful development of insulin delivery for the management of diabetes. Drug Dev.

Layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte films containing insulin for pH-triggered release

“…37,38 A number of different techniques have been explored to develop oral delivery of insulin. [39][40][41][42][43][44] The use of enteric coatings has been reported to be effective for protecting insulin from enzymatic digestion in the stomach, because enteric coatings remain stable at the acidic pH in the stomach and insulin is then released at neutral pH in the intestine. Many kinds of pHsensitive polymers have been employed as materials for the development of oral insulin formulations.…”

Development and characterization of new insulin containing polysaccharide nanoparticles

“…It is a well known 51 amino acids protein, produced nowadays by DNA recombination techniques and used subcutaneously in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Although several attempts have been developed regarding alternative routes of insulin administration [19][20][21], the oral approach remains the most attractive due to convenience and high patient compliance. However, the bioavailability of insulin after oral administration is normally low, due to its low stability in the gastrointestinal tract (GI), low partition coefficient and the physical barrier of the intestinal epithelium.…”

Synthesis and evaluation of a novel β-cyclodextrin derivative for oral insulin delivery and absorption

“…Furthermore, insulin is the most effective and durable drug in the treatment of advanced-stage diabetes. Despite significant advances in the field of pharmaceutical research, the development of a non-invasive insulin delivery system remains a major challenge [13,14]. However, the oral bioavailability of insulin is extremely low in animals and humans [15] for two main reasons: one is because insulin is degraded by gastrointestinal proteolytic enzymes.…”