Nanomedicine for Insulin Delivery in Diabetes

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the common diseases in the world and its treatment faces challenges. Insulin is the main therapeutic agent used in the treatment of diabetic patients. However, it has several side effects and during the day, patients may need several insulin injections, which is not pleasant for them. Therefore, a controlled and prolonged release system is required to decrease the injection frequency, improve the bioavailability of insulin, and enhance the compliance of patients. Nanoparticles (NPs) based drug delivery systems (DDSs) have been considered for insulin delivery. NPs can improve the permeability of insulin by opening the tight junctions between intestinal epithelial cells and can protect insulin from the action of enzymes existing in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.