Background: Diabetes is a disease caused by an insulin deficiency or a resistance to insulin in the body. Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease that damages the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, resulting in an inadequate amount of insulin in the body. Without insulin treatments, Type I diabetes is fatal. Type II diabetes results from an insufficient production of insulin or an inability of the patient’s body to respond properly to insulin. Insulin resistance associated with Type II diabetes prevents adequate levels of blood sugar from entering into cells to be stored for energy, resulting in hyperglycemia in the bloodstream. Traditionally, Type I diabetes is treated by repeated subcutaneous injections of insulin each day. Type II diabetes is also treated with insulin, often in combination with other medications taken orally or by injection. Multiple injections of insulin per day are required, as well as careful monitoring of the patient’s blood glucose levels through dietary control and blood testing. Insulin pumps are used as an alternative to multiple daily insulin injections by a syringe. However, insulin pumps are costly, must be worn most of the time, and require blood testing to determine the amount of insulin to deliver into the patient. Blood testing requires the patient to draw a sample of blood, usually from a finger, and to test the blood sample for glucose concentration. Blood glucose monitoring systems are available that use a sensor placed just under the skin to periodically monitor the amount of glucose in the interstitial fluid. These systems require calibration, typically resulting in two finger pricks per day, and are costly. Moreover, a lag time exists between the concentration of glucose in the bloodstream and the concentration of glucose in the interstitial fluid.
Summary of the TechnologyResearchers at UTHealth have created vesicle compositions that may be capable of releasing the therapeutic compound in response to the presence of an external trigger. The vesicle compositions may comprise a plurality of biocompatible vesicles. The biocompatible vesicles may comprise a therapeutic compound for treatment of a patient in need thereof, and one or more cross-linkages between two or more of the biocompatible vesicles, each cross-linkage comprising a chemical sensing moiety and a sensed moiety. In some embodiments, the therapeutic compound may be any compound that provides palliative, curative, or otherwise beneficial effects to a patent.
Intellectual PropertyIssued US Patent No. 8,679,531; US and foreign applications pending
License AvailableWorld-wide exclusive or non-exclusive to UT's rights
UTHealth ResearchersDrs. Ananth Annapragada, Indrani Dasgupta, Eric Tanifum, Mayank Srivastava