Dr Nick Hunt Photo: Stefanie Zingsheim
Approximately 75 million people with diabetes need to inject themselves daily with insulin. The development of a safe and effective oral form of the life saving drug has been a challenge since insulin was discovered over a century ago, but that may be about to change.
Research led by Dr Nick Hunt of the University of Sydney has developed a new type of oral insulin tablet based on nanotechnology. They've completed animal trials and are headed to human clinical trials next year.
The new oral insulin uses a type of nano-scale material that is 1/10,000th the width of a human hair. The material protects it from being destroyed by stomach acid and instead surrounds individual insulin molecules and becomes a 'nano carrier' - acting like a courier to ferry insulin molecules in the body to the places it needs to act.
Dr Hunt shares his research with Colin.
Photo: Stefanie Zingsheim
