Les insulines intelligentes : une nouvelle forme de pancréas artificiel

Among various strategies aimed at mimicking pancreas activity, a great deal of research was devoted to glucose-responsive hydrogels, which undergo a modification of their physical properties in response to a variation of glucose concentration. The variation of mechanical and permeation properties, associated to a modification of their swelling state, make them suitable for delivering amounts of insulin according to the glucose concentration. This feature, would be a little revolution for diabetic patients, freed from insulin doses adaptation, hypoglycemia and from the burden of technological devices or immunosuppressive treatments linked to pancreas or islets grafts. Nevertheless there is a long way to go before clinical use. Therefore, this article will provide an overview of current research in the field of glucose-responsive materials and their potential use as insulin self-delivering systems and their limitation.