Material design for oral insulin delivery

Kangfan Ji; Yuejun Yao; Xinwei Wei; Wei Liu; Juan Zhang; Yun Liu; Yang Zhang; Jinqiang Wang; Zhen Gu

doi:10.1007/s44258-023-00006-y

Material design for oral insulin delivery

Med X. 2023;1(1):7. doi: 10.1007/s44258-023-00006-y. Epub 2023 Jul 11.

Authors

Kangfan Ji^#^{1

2

3}, Yuejun Yao^#^{1

2

3}, Xinwei Wei^{1

2

3}, Wei Liu^{1

2

3}, Juan Zhang^{1

2

3}, Yun Liu^{1

2

3}, Yang Zhang^{1

2

3}, Jinqiang Wang^{1

2

4}, Zhen Gu^{1

2

3

5

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery Systems of Zhejiang Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058 China.
² Jinhua Institute of Zhejiang University, Jinhua, 321299 China.
³ National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems, Zhejiang University, 310058 Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310009 China.
⁵ Department of General Surgery, School of Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310016 China.
⁶ Zhejiang Laboratory of Systems & Precision Medicine, Zhejiang University Medical Center, Hangzhou, 311121 China.
⁷ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027 China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Frequent insulin injections remain the primary method for controlling the blood glucose level of individuals with diabetes mellitus but are associated with low compliance. Accordingly, oral administration has been identified as a highly desirable alternative due to its non-invasive nature. However, the harsh gastrointestinal environment and physical intestinal barriers pose significant challenges to achieving optimal pharmacological bioavailability of insulin. As a result, researchers have developed a range of materials to improve the efficiency of oral insulin delivery over the past few decades. In this review, we summarize the latest advances in material design that aim to enhance insulin protection, permeability, and glucose-responsive release. We also explore the opportunities and challenges of using these materials for oral insulin delivery.

Keywords: Drug delivery; Glucose-responsive; Insulin delivery; Material design; Oral administration.

Publication types

Review