Project Title: Amyloid peptide-based injectable hydrogels for sustained insulin release and diabetes mellitus therapy 

Amyloid hydrogels are biomaterials fabricated by bottom-up self-assembly of monomeric peptide units. Hydrogels with desired properties such as temperature sensitivity, pH sensitivity, thixotropicity, stiffness modulation, and tunability can deliver diverse drugs effectively to different tissues under varying conditions. Previous studies from our group demonstrated the capability of amyloid gels as drug delivery agents for various small molecules, peptides, and protein drugs. Based on these studies, we proposed to develop functional amyloid hydrogels as high-efficiency insulin carriers for releasing active insulin in a sustained manner. The hydrogel was injected subcutaneously, and the in vivo glycaemic levels were monitored, thereby aiming to avoid frequent injections for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.