Abstract

                                Type 1 diabetes caused by the destruction of the pancreatic cells, leads to reduced or no production of insulin, the hormone responsible for lowering blood glucose levels. Insulin is a protein administered subcutaneously to humans for treating, type I diabetes mellitus to control glucose homeostasis when pancreatic β-cells production is not sufficient to ensure daily needs of this hormone. The desire for a more convenient and socially compatible route of insulin administration other than subcutaneous injection has originated several approaches to attempt its oral delivery. The aim of this project is to research and obtain a therapeutic food product containing an oral insulin delivery system. The method used to synthesize the insulin loaded nanoparticles is a two step Ionic pre-gelation method for the preparation of alginate/chitosan nanoparticles. The sizes of the alginate-chitosan nanoparticles were estimated by Scanning Electron Microcopy to range from 326-850nm. The characterization of the synthesized nanoparticles was done using Scanning electron microsopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) studies. The interaction between the Alginate and Chitosan was confirmed by the FTIR studies. From the results of the XRD studies, it was observed that there was a decline in the crystal structure of the Chitosan after the formation of the nanoparticles. These Nanoparticles were homogenized with Ultra High Temperature (UHT) sterilized milk containing 4.5% fat. The standard milk (control) and the milk containing nanoparticles (product) was subjected to sensory analysis for the color, aroma and consistency. From the sensory analysis of color, aroma and consistency, it was found that there was no significant difference between the control and the product.

Key words : Alginate, Chitosan, Insulin, Therapeutic Milk, Oral Delivery System