Researchers develop implantable device to produce insulin

In a move that could change and possibly hurt revenue of many pharmaceutical indsutries across the world, a group of ETH Zurich researchers from the Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE) department in Basel have developed an implantable micro machine to monitor acid build-up in diabetes patients and produce insulin if acidosis became a risk, MF Monitor reported.

Insulin production, like many human metabolic functions inside the body, ran smoothly if the acid level remained neutral and stable. In humans, the normal blood pH values lay between 7.35 and 7.45. As against this an empty stomach was extremely acidic, with a pH value of 1.5.

The narrow band was under constant monitoring by the body, which quickly restored the ideal pH values in the event of any deviations. This was because many proteins ceased to functioning normally if fluids in the body became even slightly more acidic.

These proteins became unstable and altered their structure or interactions with other proteins, causing entire metabolic pathways to break down.

People with type 1 diabetes were particularly at risk of high acid levels. With their bodies unable to produce insulin, the hormone that regulated blood sugar levels, their cells could not absorb any glucose from the blood and had to tap into another energy source: fat reserves.

The new implantable device can monitor acid build-up in diabetics and produce the necessary amount of insulin. People with type 1 diabetes are particularly at risk of high acid levels.

If the lack of insulin went undetected or untreated in time, people with type 1 diabetes could die of ketoacidosis – metabolic shock resulting from an excess of beta-hydroxybutyrate, an acid which supplied the muscles and brain with energy via the bloodstream, PTI reported.

The new implantable molecular device is composed of two modules - a sensor that constantly measured blood pH and a gene feedback mechanism that produces the necessary amount of insulin.

They made the modules from biological components, such as various genes and proteins, and incorporated them into cultivated renal cells, which the researchers embedded in capsules that could be used as implants in the body.

The heart of the implantable molecular device was the pH sensor, which measured the blood's precise acidity and reacted sensitively to minor deviations from the ideal pH value.

In the event the pH value fell below 7.35, the sensor transmitted a signal to trigger the production of insulin.