Advances in transdermal insulin delivery

Yuqi Zhang; Jicheng Yu; Anna R Kahkoska; Jinqiang Wang; John B Buse; Zhen Gu

doi:10.1016/j.addr.2018.12.006

Advances in transdermal insulin delivery

Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2019 Jan 15:139:51-70. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2018.12.006. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Authors

Yuqi Zhang¹, Jicheng Yu², Anna R Kahkoska³, Jinqiang Wang¹, John B Buse³, Zhen Gu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
² Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
³ Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
⁴ Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA; California NanoSystems Institute, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Electronic address: guzhen@ucla.edu.

Abstract

Insulin therapy is necessary to regulate blood glucose levels for people with type 1 diabetes and commonly used in advanced type 2 diabetes. Although subcutaneous insulin administration via hypodermic injection or pump-mediated infusion is the standard route of insulin delivery, it may be associated with pain, needle phobia, and decreased adherence, as well as the risk of infection. Therefore, transdermal insulin delivery has been widely investigated as an attractive alternative to subcutaneous approaches for diabetes management in recent years. Transdermal systems designed to prevent insulin degradation and offer controlled, sustained release of insulin may be desirable for patients and lead to increased adherence and glycemic outcomes. A challenge for transdermal insulin delivery is the inefficient passive insulin absorption through the skin due to the large molecular weight of the protein drug. In this review, we focus on the different transdermal insulin delivery techniques and their respective advantages and limitations, including chemical enhancers-promoted, electrically enhanced, mechanical force-triggered, and microneedle-assisted methods.

Keywords: Diabetes; Drug delivery; Electroporation; Insulin; Iontophoresis; Jet injection; Microneedle; Transdermal delivery; Ultrasound.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Administration, Cutaneous
Animals
Electroporation
Humans
Hypoglycemic Agents / administration & dosage*
Insulin / administration & dosage*
Iontophoresis
Microinjections
Needles
Ultrasonic Waves

Substances

Hypoglycemic Agents
Insulin

Grants and funding

F30 DK113728/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States