Simple solution to problem of biostator-induced insulin aggregation.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Endocrinology
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Prolonged insulin delivery via the Biostator system leads to heat-induced insulin aggregation.
• This aggregation significantly reduces insulin immunoreactivity and bioavailability.
• Consequently, data from studies using continuous Biostator insulin infusions become uninterpretable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and address the issue of insulin loss during Biostator-assisted continuous insulin delivery.
• To propose a simple and effective method to prevent heat-induced insulin aggregation.

Main Methods:

• Investigated the artifact of insulin aggregation in the Biostator insulin delivery system.
• Proposed adding 20 ml of heparinized whole blood to the 500-ml insulin reservoir.

Main Results:

• The addition of heparinized whole blood effectively prevented insulin aggregation.
• This method maintained insulin immunoreactivity and bioavailability during prolonged infusion.
• The solution was found to be simple, economical, and safe for subjects.

Conclusions:

• Heparinized whole blood addition is a viable solution to prevent insulin loss in Biostator systems.
• This technique ensures the integrity of data from studies employing continuous insulin infusions.
• The method offers a practical and risk-free approach for researchers.