Promising strategies for smart insulin delivery system: Glucose-sensitive microneedle

The diabetes treatment landscape is rapidly evolving towards intelligent and precise therapeutic interventions. Among these advancements, glucose-sensitive microneedle patches (GSMPs), which can automatically adjust the transdermal release rate of insulin based on glucose concentrations, are emerging as a promising strategy. In this work, a new classification method has been proposed for GSMPs, categorizing them into integrated, all-in-one, and core-shell structures. The working mechanism and performance of GSMPs are thoroughly analyzed to compare the advantages and disadvantages of these three forms. The correlation between glucose-sensitive performance and normal blood glucose maintenance time (NGT) is further explored. Our findings indicate that all-in-one GSMPs demonstrate a positive correlation between in vitro glucose-sensitive controlled-release performance and NGT, unlike assembled GSMPs, where the performance is influenced by the matrix material and crosslinking factors. Simultaneously, challenges in clinical translation and future development trends are discussed from a patient's perspective. In summary, the new classification method, in-depth explanation of mechanisms, and analysis of challenges in this work contribute to a better understanding of the field of GSMPs and provide guidance for the development of more advanced and efficient GSMPs.