A new mode of treatment may provide people with type 2 diabetes with a more painless way of monitoring their sugar levels. Scientists have developed a skin patch that could replace finger pricks before mealtimes and insulin injections as ways of managing the metabolic disorder.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) have developed a pain-free skin patch with dissolvable microneedles that have been biochemically formulated with mineralized compounds.

The base of the skin patch is alginate, a natural substance extracted from brown algae. It is mixed with other therapeutic agents and poured into a microneedle form. When applied to the skin, the patch interacts with the bloodstream in order to regulate blood sugar levels. It is a long-acting formula that is able to last for several days at a time.

In a proof-of-concept study, published in the November issue of Nature Communications, researchers applied the skin patch on mice to see how their blood chemistry would respond to the dissolvable microneedles. Results showed that the skin patch was able to control the speed at which the ingredients were released. The process was observed to slow down or stop when glucose levels were stabilized.

"This experimental approach could be a way to take advantage of the fact that persons with type 2 diabetes can still produce some insulin. A weekly microneedle patch application would also be less complicated and painful than routines that require frequent blood testing," said Richard Leapman, Ph.D., NIBIB scientific director.

Given the promising findings and potential applications of this experimental approach, lead scientist Dr. Xiaoyuan Chen and his team of researchers' next step would be to create a patch that contains more therapeutic compound and conduct tests that would treat larger animals. In order to be a viable treatment option for humans, Chen said that the skin patch will have to be altered to have an optimized shape, larger size, and longer needles.

"Also, the patch needs to be compatible with daily life, for instance allowing for showering or sweating," he added.

If successful, the pain-free skin patch would be very helpful to the more than 285 million people who have metabolic disorders, 90 percent of whom have type 2 diabetes.