Enzyme Nanocapsules for Glucose Sensing and Insulin Delivery

Diabetes mellitus (DM), also known as diabetes, is a type of common metabolic disease in which glucose is build up in the blood, caused either by pancreas's failure to produce insulin (Type 1 DM) or by insulin resistance from the body tissue (Type2 DM) (Kasuga, 2006). Diabetes currently affects an estimate 387 million people, which is equal to 8.3% of the adult population worldwide. It is also a rapid growing problem, with an expectation to rise to 592 million by 2035 (Whiting, Guariguata et al.,2011). Diabetes may lead to serious complications including cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, chronic kidney disease, and even cancer (Tai et al., 2014). Moreover, diabetes is a chronic disease and currently there is no cure with exception only in the early stage of Type 2 DM. Despite this, the diabetes-associated complications can be minimized through the tight control of blood glucose level (BGL), which requires frequent blood glucose monitoring and careful administration of insulin. Therefore, it is urgent to develop the sensitive glucose biosensor and advanced insulin delivery systems.