Photo-induced synthesis glucose-responsive carriers for controlled release of insulin in vitro

The glucose-responsive amphiphilic poly(PEGMA-co-AAPBA) copolymer micelles as drug carriers have been developed using 3-phenylpyruvic acid (3-PPA) as photoinitiator. Under the light irradiation, 3-PPA could be self-polymerized into the trimer structure to execute the emulsifier and initiator functions that confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrum (GC-MS) analysis. The structure and morphology of resultant poly(PEGMA-co-AAPBA) micelles were characterized by H-1 NMR and TEM. Insulin, as the model drug of diabetes, was loaded into micelles during the photopolymerization process. The as-prepared polymeric micelles exhibited the excellent glucose sensitivity. The loaded insulin could be released from micelles triggered by regulation of temperature and glucose concentration in the environment. The new drug carriers provided a potential application for the therapy of diabetes based on glucose-sensitive controlled drug delivery systems.