An insulin-loaded patch that sticks inside a person’s cheek

Managing blood sugar levels requires round-the-clock attention for people diagnosed with diabetes. A more healthful diet and increased physical activity can help, but many with the condition also need to take regular shots of insulin—the primary hormone that regulates sugar. To deliver this drug in a less invasive way, researchers in ACS Applied Bio Materials now report a prototype insulin-loaded patch that comfortably sticks to the inside of a person’s cheek.

According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 6 million Americans use insulin to help control their diabetes, either because their bodies don’t make the hormone (Type 1) or don’t respond well to what they do make (Type 2). People primarily take insulin by injecting themselves with pens or syringes, or they have semi-permanent pumps implanted. These methods are invasive and uncomfortable, and they require safe needle or biohazard disposal and sterile conditions. Researchers have explored other ways to deliver insulin through the skin, such as gel-like lotions. But the skin is too good of a barrier, and drugs move into the body slowly. In contrast, the membrane lining the inside of the mouth is very thin, about one quarter the thickness of skin, making it a potential place for drugs to easily enter the bloodstream. So, Sabine Szunerits and colleagues wanted to see if a material they had previously developed—a polymer fiber mat that is activated by heat to release drugs—could attach to the cheek’s lining and deliver insulin.

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