Polymer-Based Nanostructures for Pancreatic Beta-Cell Imaging and Non-Invasive Treatment of Diabetes

Diabetes poses major economic, social, and public health challenges in all countries worldwide. Besides cardiovascular disease and microangiopathy, diabetes is a leading cause of foot ulcers and lower limb amputations. With the continued rise of diabetes prevalence, it is expected that the future burden of diabetes complications, early mortality, and disabilities will increase. The diabetes epidemic is partly caused by the current lack of clinical imaging diagnostic tools, the timely monitoring of insulin secretion and insulin-expressing cell mass (beta (β)-cells), and the lack of patients’ adherence to treatment, because some drugs are not tolerated or invasively administrated. In addition to this, there is a lack of efficient topical treatment capable of stopping the progression of disabilities, in particular for treating foot ulcers. In this context, polymer-based nanostructures garnered significant interest due to their tunable physicochemical characteristics, rich diversity, and biocompatibility. This review article emphasizes the last advances and discusses the prospects in the use of polymeric materials as nanocarriers for β-cell imaging and non-invasive drug delivery of insulin and antidiabetic drugs in the management of blood glucose and foot ulcers.