How ‘smart’ insulin could work

GLUCOSE-RESPONSIVE insulin, known as ‘smart’ insulin, is a promising future treatment for people with diabetes.

If successful, it could result in blood glucose levels remaining within range during the day, meaning patients would not have to worry about low or high blood sugar.

It would work by automatically reacting to blood sugar fluctuations – essentially the same thing normal insulin-producing cells do in people without diabetes.

When blood glucose levels are low, a ‘binding element’ stays attached to the insulin, which stops it from working. As blood glucose levels rise, glucose molecules help to free the insulin from the binding element, allowing the insulin to go to work, which will bring glucose levels back down.

Ziylo moved this closer to reality by developing man-made molecules that bind to the glucose and work in much the same way as natural glucose receptors.

They would bind to and measure the amount of glucose present in the body. If glucose levels became too low, the insulin would stop until it was needed again.