Ana Macedo, Patrícia Filipe, Natália G. Thomé, João Vieira, Carolina Oliveira, Catarina Teodósio, Raquel Ferreira, Luís Roque and Pedro Fonte* Pages 134 - 143 ( 10 )
Diabetes mellitus greatly affects the quality of life of patients and has a worldwide prevalence. Insulin is the most commonly used drug to treat diabetic patients and is usually administered through the subcutaneous route. However, this route of administration is ineffective due to the low concentration of insulin at the site of action. This route of administration causes discomfort to the patient and increases the risk of infection due to skin barrier disturbance caused by the needle. The oral administration of insulin has been proposed to surpass the disadvantages of subcutaneous administration. In this review, we give an overview of the strategies to deliver insulin by the oral route, from insulin conjugation to encapsulation into nanoparticles. These strategies are still under development to attain efficacy and effectiveness that are expected to be achieved in the near future.
Diabetes mellitus, insulin, oral delivery, nanoparticle, absorption enhancer, enzyme inhibitor, intestinal patch.
LAQV, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences - Applied Chemistry Lab, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, Center for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, Gambelas Campus, 8005-139 Faro, CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, CBIOS, Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, LAQV, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences - Applied Chemistry Lab, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto