Technology to build an artificial pancreas is one step closer thanks to improvements in biotechnology discovered by West Australian researchers.
A team from Curtin University uncovered data for creating better quality nanocapsules, "tiny houses" used to grow healthy cells that could function as their own organs, potentially offering new treatment options for many diseases including type 1 diabetes.
"Currently, many diseases are not treatable because of the inability of the body to regenerate damaged cells," lead researcher Hani Al-Salami told AAP.
Type 1 diabetes causes the body to attack insulin-producing cells in the pancreas which after 10 to 20 years die off permanently.
The paper, published in Molecular Pharmaceutics, found new cells grown in the nanocapsules could be implanted in the body, replacing damaged cells.
Made from materials designed to protect the healthy cells, the capsules also have to be porous, allowing for a supply of blood and nutrients.
"The key question is finding materials the body cannot or will not react to," Dr Al-Salami said.
"The last thing we want is for the body to start attacking the new cells."
Testing on potential nanocapsule implant sites, including under the skin of the stomach, had been "very, very promising", he said.
Insulin injections have been used to treat diabetes since 1921, but Dr Al-Salami estimates about 50 per cent of diabetes patients do not receive the right dose of insulin due to fluctuations in blood glucose.
"I thought one day, in 100 years, what would we be looking back on that was special, that made changes," he said.
"The rate of diabetes in this country is very, very high and a lot of what we've done has just been trying to fix the symptoms.
"A novel, more creative approach - that makes much more sense in my head."
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