胰岛素,糖尿病 z-bo 2020-12-15 306

　　Diabetes patients have to endure the pain of repeated insulin injections. A new invention from North Carolina State University (UNC) may end this torture. Researchers created the first "smart insulin patch". This thin, less than coin-sized smart patch is covered with more than 100 eyelash-sized "mini-needles" filled with trace amounts of insulin. When blood sugar levels are too high , It can sense and quickly release insulin.

　　 The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the new painless patch can last up to 9 hours in mice with type 1 diabetes. Although smart stickers need more clinical trials before they can be used in diabetic patients, it has shown great promise.

　　 Diabetes affects 387 million people worldwide, and this number will increase to 592 million by 2035. People with type I and type II diabetes need to regularly check their blood sugar levels and inject insulin. This process is painful but not very precise. Injecting the wrong dose of the drug can cause blindness, amputation, coma and even death.

　　 The author of the paper and professor of the UNC Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Gu Zhen said that this painless smart patch made of non-toxic and biocompatible materials can be convenient and quick to take effect and treat diabetic patients in a personalized way.

　　 According to a report by the Physicist Organization Network on the 23rd, in order to eliminate possible human error, the researchers created a "closed loop system" that establishes a direct connection between the blood glucose detection device and the insulin control device. They mimicked the working principle of the "human body's natural insulin generator" beta cells-producing and storing insulin in small vesicles, sensing the increase in blood glucose concentration and releasing signals to release insulin like an alarm center. Realizing the function of artificial vesicles depends on two easily found natural materials: one is hyaluronic acid (HA), which is contained in many cosmetics; the other is an organic compound commonly used in diagnosis-2-nitroimidazole Class (NI). They combined the two materials into a new type of molecule with one end hydrophilic and the other hydrophobic. After mixing, many of these molecules self-assemble into a vesicle that is 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair, into which solid insulin and glucose-sensing enzymes are inserted. When blood sugar rises, glucose enters artificial vesicles, enzymes convert gluconic acid to consume oxygen, and hypoxia makes hydrophobic NI molecules hydrophilic. After the vesicles burst, insulin is pushed into the subcutaneous capillaries.

　　Because mice are not as sensitive to insulin as humans, researchers believe that if tested on patients, the "smart insulin patch" may last longer to maintain blood sugar levels. Their goal is to get patients to change the stickers every few days.