Type 2 diabetes skin patch controls blood sugar levels in mice

Researchers at the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) in Bethesda, Maryland, have developed a biochemical formula using mineralized compounds capable of regulating the blood sugar of type 2 diabetes for multiple days in mice. Findings are published in Nature Communications.

“This experimental approach could be a way to take advantage of the fact that persons with type 2 diabetes can still produce some insulin,” said Richard Leapman, PhD, NIBIB scientific director. “A weekly microneedle patch application would also be less complicated and painful than routines that require frequent blood testing.”

Led by Xiaoyuan (Shawn) Chen, senior investigator in the Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine, the team of researchers developed the skin patch infused with exendin-4 and glucose oxidase. These compounds, when testing the patch on mice, reacted with the blood chemistry to activate the production of insulin. This patch delivery system, which was about a half inch in size, was able to manage blood sugar level in the mice for a week.

“Diabetes is a very serious disease and affects a lot of people,” Chen said, explaining that his group is part of a crowded field of drug research and developers with competing ideas. “Everybody is looking for a long-acting formula. We would need to scale up the size of the patch and optimize the length, shape and morphology of the needles. Also, the patch needs to be compatible with daily life, for instance allowing for showering or sweating.”