Plant protein regulates diabetes treatment: Polymer Chemistry article in Chemistry World

27 Aug 2013

A plant protein has been used to make a new class of glucose-responsive polymer nanogels that could one day negate the need for diabetes patients to constantly monitor their blood glucose levels and inject themselves with insulin.

Diabetes currently affects over 347 million people worldwide and with this number set to rise, research into the treatment of this disease is of vital importance. For type 1 and advanced type 2 diabetes, patients must regularly prick their fingers to check their blood glucose levels and inject themselves with insulin accordingly. This not only impinges on a patient’s quality of life, but also fails to precisely control the dose of insulin reaching its main site of action, the liver.