Molecular and Materials Engineering for Delivery of Peptide Drugs to Treat Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes is exploding globally. Despite numerous treatment options, nearly half of type 2 diabetics are unsuccessful at properly managing the disease, primarily due to a lack of patient compliance, driven by adverse side effects as well as complicated and frequent dosing schedules. Improving the delivery of type 2 diabetes drugs has the potential to increase patient compliance and thus, greatly enhance health outcomes and quality of life. This review focuses on molecular and materials engineering strategies that have been implemented to improve the delivery of peptide drugs to treat type 2 diabetes. Peptide drugs benefit from high potency and specificity but suffer from instability and short half‐lives that limit their utility as therapeutics and pose a significant delivery challenge. Several approaches have been developed to improve the availability and efficacy of antidiabetic peptides and proteins in vivo. These methods are reviewed herein and include devices, which sustain the release of peptides in long term, and molecular engineering strategies, which prolong circulation time and slow the release of therapeutic peptides. By optimizing the delivery of these peptides and proteins using these approaches, long‐term glucose control can be achieved in type 2 diabetes patients.

Genetically Encoded Elastin‐Like Polypeptides for Drug Delivery

“…While insulin is the most obvious choice for sustained release from an ELP depot, we chose instead to focus on glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1), a member of the class of incretin peptides that controls the release of insulin from pancreatic beta‐cells. [ 19,20 ] It is a much better choice for sustained release because unlike insulin, there is no risk of delivering an accidental overdose in case of catastrophic failure of the depot. This is due to GLP‐1's glucose‐dependent activity, which eliminates the risk of inducing hypoglycemia associated with an insulin overdose.…”

“…This is due to GLP‐1's glucose‐dependent activity, which eliminates the risk of inducing hypoglycemia associated with an insulin overdose. [ 19 ]…”

Preparation of Single, Heteromorphic Microspheres, and Their Progress for Medical Applications

“…Under this circumstance, the development of heteromorphic microsphere (e.g., multicompartmental microsphere and core–shell microsphere) is particularly important. [ 86,87 ] Different compartments of multicompartmental microspheres can encapsulate different drugs. This ensures that drugs can be individually encapsulated without cross infection, which has great application value for the collaborative release of drugs.…”

Exploration of temperature and shelf-life dependency of the therapeutically available Insulin Detemir

“…The therapeutic applicability of a biologically active peptide is contingent on delivering it at its site of action within a suitable timeframe. Peptide and protein drug delivery is connected with several problems [29]. Peptides, prone to enzymatic breakdown and poor penetration through mucosal membranes, must be administered by injection.…”