Researchers at N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill are working on a new form of blood sugar regulation in diabetic patients based on nanotechnology.

This new nanotechnology, if it passes testing, will allow patients to release insulin with a small ultrasound device. This technology would eliminate the need for diabetics to administer insulin injections multiple times a day, meaning patients would be able to go days between each injection.

Zhen Gu, the senior author of a paper on the research and assistant professor in the joint biomedical engineering program at N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill, initiated the idea and led the research.

According to Gu, the ultrasound device involves patients injecting biocompatible and biodegradable nanoparticles into their skin. The nanoparticles are comprised of poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid, or PLGA, and each particle contains a small amount of insulin.

Yun Jing, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and co-corresponding author of the study, developed the ultrasound technology.

According to Jing, each PLGA nanoparticle is given either a positive or negative charge. The positively charged coating is comprised of a biocompatible material commonly found in shrimp cells called Chitosan. The negatively charged coating is biocompatible as well, but found in a type of seaweed called alginate.

A nano-network is formed as the positively and negatively charged coatings are attracted to each other. The nano-network is injected into the layer below the skin called the subcutaneous layer and holds the nanoparticles together to prevent them from dispersing randomly throughout the body, according to Jing.

According to Gu, the nanoparticles are porous but once they are in the patients body, the insulin begins to diffuse from within the nanoparticles. The majority of the insulin from within the particle doesnt travel far, the insulin remains suspended in a de facto reservoir created by the electrostatic force of the nano-network. These factors create an insulin dose that will be administered into the bloodstream as needed.

Insulin is a hormone that transports glucose from the bloodstream to the bodys cells. Diabetic patients require additional glucose to maintain healthy glucose levels. At the moment diabetic patients inject insulin into their bloodstream multiple times a day to maintain healthy glucose levels.

Multiple injects a day can be inconvenient and painful for some patients.

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NCSU researchers work to help people with diabetes