Innovative Nanotechnological Approaches to Diabetes Treatment: The Role of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is among the most prevalent illnesses in the world. DM and its complications lead to high mortality rates. The negative effects of traditional diabetic therapies, such as insulin and metformin, include weight gain, hypoglycemia, and gastrointestinal problems. In addition to the limited compliance of patients using insulin injections as a treatment for diabetes, these injections cause pain, discomfort, and local infections. This review illustrates the application of nanotechnology (NT) in the treatment of diabetes, especially since it has become an important area of research over the past several decades owing to its application in various sectors, such as biomedicine, cosmetics, and food. This review focuses on the different uses of nanoparticles (NPs), for example zinc oxide (ZnO-NPs), manganese oxide (MnO-NPs), magnesium oxide (MgO-NPs), and selenium (Se-NPs), and their role in controlling diabetes. The application of ZnO-, MnO-, MgO-, and Se-NPs allows the administration of relatively small but more effective doses in the treatment of DM to reduce side effects and increase therapeutic effects by decreasing oxidative stress and increasing antioxidants, insulin sensitivity, and glucose consumption. NT can also be used to improve drug formulations by enhancing drug solubility and altering pharmacokinetics, to prolong drug release and bioavailability.