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Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed an oral delivery method that could dramatically transform the way in which diabetics keep their blood sugar levels in check. Insulin therapy, by injection just under the skin or delivered by an insulin pump, keeps the glucose levels in check. Pain, phobia of needles, and the interference with normal activities, may prevent regular use of insulin.
This may result in poor glycemic control can lead to serious health complications, protein in insulin does not fare well when it encounters the stomach’s acidic environment and it is poorly absorbed out of the intestine. The key to the new approach is to carry insulin in an ionic liquid comprised of choline and geranic acid that is then put inside a capsule with an acid-resistant enteric coating.
The formulation is biocompatible, easy to manufacture, and can be stored for up to two months at room temperature without degrading, which is longer than some injectable insulin products. Encapsulating the insulin-ionic liquid formulation in an enteric coating prevents breakdown by gastric acids in the gut. This polymer coating dissolves when it reaches a more alkaline environment in the small intestine, where the ionic liquid carrying insulin is released.
“When a protein molecule such as insulin enters the intestine, there are many enzymes whose function is to degrade the proteins into smaller amino acids. The choline-geranic acid formulation also was shown to be adept at penetrating two final barriers-the layer of mucus lining the intestine and the tight cell junctions of the intestine wall, through which large-molecule drugs such as insulin cannot easily pass. Orally ingested insulin would mimic healthy pancreas, makes and delivers insulin to the liver, where up to 80 percent is extracted and the rest is circulated through the bloodstream.
haleplushearty.org