Story perspectives

Revolutionary Topical Insulin Treatment Offers Injection-Free Diabetes Management

11/22/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Researchers at Zhejiang University developed a topical insulin treatment that could replace invasive injections for diabetes.
The treatment uses a polymer called OP to help insulin penetrate the skin by engaging its pH gradient.
In tests on diabetic mice and minipigs, the OP-insulin conjugate (OP-I) normalized blood glucose within hours and stayed stable for 12 hours.
Its efficacy was comparable to traditional injections.
The findings were published in Nature.

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Story summary

Researchers at Zhejiang University developed a topical insulin treatment that could replace invasive injections for diabetes.
The treatment uses a polymer called OP to help insulin penetrate the skin by engaging its pH gradient.
In tests on diabetic mice and minipigs, the OP-insulin conjugate (OP-I) normalized blood glucose within hours and stayed stable for 12 hours.
Its efficacy was comparable to traditional injections.
The findings were published in Nature.