Hypoglycemic effect of insulin-loaded hydrogel-nanogel composite on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

At present, how to increase insulin rapidly, availably and stably is still a conundrum in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. In vitro studies have shown that insulin can be released from hydrogel-nanogel composite according to the changes of glucose level. This study aimed to observe the glucose-lowering effects and evaluate the safety of the insulin-loaded hydrogel-nanogel composite in diabetic rats. We found that significant glycemic regulation could be observed up to 30 hours after subcutaneous injection, and the fasting blood glucose was reduced effectively. The result of an oral glucose tolerance test showed that the level of insulin expressed a stable increase from 0.5 hours to 3.5 hours, which led to a reduction of glucose with steady steps. Also, compared with Ins group, the Gel+Ins group showed slighter skin and pancreas damage, while the oxidative stress and inflammation response were similar to the normal control group. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that the glucose-lowering action of the insulin-loaded hydrogel-nanogel composite was superior to that of the regular insulin, and might thus become an insulin carrier in the future.