title: Needle-free injection of insulin powder: delivery efficiency and skin irritation assessment.
abstract: Insulin is widely used in treating diabetes, but still needs to be administered by needle injection. This study investigated a new needle-free approach for insulin delivery. A portable powder needleless injection (PNI) device with an automatic mechanical unit was designed. Its efficiency in delivering insulin was evaluated in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. The skin irritation caused by the device was investigated and the results were analyzed in relation to aerodynamic parameters. Inorganic salt-carried insulin powders had hypoglycemic effects, while raw insulin powders were not effective when delivered by PNI, indicating that salt carriers play an important role in the delivery of insulin via PNI. The relative delivery efficiency of phosphate-carried insulin powder using the PNI device was 72.25%. A safety assessment test showed that three key factors (gas pressure, cylinder volume, and nozzle distance) were related to the amount of skin irritation caused by the PNI device. Optimized injection conditions caused minimal skin lesions and are safe to use in practice. The results suggest that PNI has promising prospects as a novel technology for delivering insulin and other biological drugs.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610000, China; China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine, 302 Military Hospital, Beijing 100039, China; Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China; Integrative Medicine Center, 302 Military Hospital, Beijing 100039, China; School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China; School of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, China.
authors.forename: Chun-yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhe-wei
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Can
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.forename: Jia-bo
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bing-qian
authors.initials: BQ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ling-na
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Zhi-jie
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yan-ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Ya-ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Xiao-he
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Xiao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003872:Dermatitis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D007277:Injections, Jet / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008297:Male; D009339:Needles; D011208:Powders; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin; D011208:Powders
keywords: Insulin; Powder needleless injection; Skin irritation; Transdermal drug delivery