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Published on: August 23, 2018
A stimuli-responsive insulin delivery system based on reversible phenylboronate modified cyclodextrin with glucose
Xinyuan Xu1, Hui Shang1, Tianyu Zhang1
1College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
Abstract:
Injection of insulin is an effective therapy to treat most patients with the type I diabetes and some with type II diabetes. Additionally, the release of insulin under specific conditions has attracted widespread interest. In this study, a smart drug carrier that can release insulin depending on the changes in blood glucose levels was designed. Combining two popular molecules through facile synthetic processes, a drug carrier of reversible phenylboronate group modified cyclodextrin (β-CD-EPDME) was fabricated. The drug carrier is composed of cyclodextrin, which can encapsulate insulin, and phenylboronate, which is sensitive to the cis-diols in some saccharides. Moreover, β-CD-EPDME can successfully encapsulate insulin and almost completely release insulin in the presence of glucose. The detached phenylboronic acid moiety triggered by glucose can attack the β-CD cavity and form a host-guest complex, which can force out the encapsulated insulin within the cavity. In addition, the insulin released from the β-CD-EPDME@Insulin complex retains its secondary structure, and the drug carrier has been proven to have low cytotoxicity. Thus, this safe and glucose-responsive drug carrier shows the potential for use in the therapy of diabetes.
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