Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of boronate gel-based closed-loop system. | Communications Biology

Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of boronate gel-based closed-loop system.

From: Hollow fiber-combined glucose-responsive gel technology as an in vivo electronics-free insulin delivery system

Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of boronate gel-based closed-loop system.

(i) Glucose-dependent equilibria of boronic acids. (ii) The fraction change between electrically neutral boronic acid moiety (right) and the boronate anions (left) translates into a change in hydration of the gel due to the change in counterions’ osmotic pressure. (iii) A rapidly evoking dehydration (at low glucose) results in a formation of a gel-surface-limited, microscopically dehydrated layer, so-called “skin layer”. (iv) The skin layer provides a rapid, reversible and continuous diffusion control mode for the gel-loaded insulin.

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