Insulin in chitosan

UNN has invented a way to effectively deliver insulin to the body through tablets

Lobachevsky University Blog on Naked Science

In October, a patent for the development was obtained. Existing insulin tablets are ineffective. From the stomach, only a small part of the substance enters the blood. Around the world, teams of scientists are developing new ways to deliver drugs to the body. One of the most promising is chitosan nanoparticles. The unique biopolymer, which is obtained from the shells of crustaceans and insects, is non-toxic and safe for both animals and humans.

On its basis, Nizhny Novgorod chemists have created a powerful multilayer shell. Chitosan binds insulin inside the capsule and closes it from the outside, preventing the drug from being digested in the stomach. The chitosan capsule pushes the slit contacts of the gastrointestinal tract — as a result, insulin enters the blood almost completely.

In this case, the substance is released from the shell gradually — and the drug is better tolerated by the patient. In addition, chitosan can reduce the level of fat and cholesterol in the diet of a diabetic patient. Larisa Smirnova, co-author of the development, Professor of the Department of High Molecular Compounds and Colloidal Chemistry at Lobachevsky University: "This is a new step in the use of chitosan as a drug carrier. At the moment, such developments are patented only by Chinese scientists.

But they use a different principle of operation. Now we are receiving orders from private companies. We are considering the possibility of using such chitosan capsules for other medications as well. For example, antibiotics. Chitosan will increase their working life and reduce side effects."

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