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Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic, life-threatening illness that affects people of every
age and ethnicity. It is a long-term pain for those who are affected and must regulate
their blood glucose level by frequent subcutaneous injection of insulin every day.
Herein, we propose a noninsulin and antidiabetic drug-free strategy for regulating
blood glucose level by a nanosized "sugar sponge" which is a lectin-bound glycopolymersome
capable of regulating glucose due to the dynamic recognition between the lectin and
different carbohydrates. The glycopolymersome is self-assembled from poly(ethylene
oxide)-block-poly[(7-(2-methacryloyloxyethoxy)-4-methylcoumarin)-stat-2-(diethylamino)ethyl
methacrylate-stat-(α-d-glucopyranosyl)ethyl methacrylate] [PEO-b-P(CMA-stat-DEA-stat-GEMA)].
The lectin bound in the glycopolymersome has different affinity for the glucose in
the blood and the glucosyl group in the glycopolymersome. Therefore, this sugar sponge
functions as a glucose storage unit by dynamic sugar replacement: The lectin in the
sugar sponge will bind and store the glucose from its surrounding solution when the
glucose concentration is too high and will release the glucose when the glucose concentration
is too low. In vitro, this sugar-breathing behavior is characterized by a remarkable
size change of the sugar sponge due to the swelling/shrinkage at high/low glucose
levels, which can be used for blood sugar monitoring. In vivo, this sugar sponge showed
an excellent antidiabetic effect for type I diabetic mice within 2 days upon one dose,
which is much longer than traditional long-acting insulin. Overall, this concept of
"controlling sugar levels with sugar" opens new avenues for regulating the blood glucose
level without the involvement of insulin or other antidiabetic drugs.