How are insulin injections made, and how have advances in biotechnology changed diabetes treatment?

Insulin is produced in large quantities using E. coli bacteria, making it a cheaper and more reliable treatment for people with diabetes. Biotechnology can also be found in everyday life, such as using yeast to make alcohol and ferment kimchi.

 

Biology is the study of all living things in nature and the scientific analysis of their phenomena and their causes. However, the main concern of biology is to analyze how it can be applied to humans. Biotechnology is a branch of biology that has evolved to this point. Biotechnology is still in its infancy, but it could be the key to immortality. Biotechnology can be found in our daily lives. Whether it’s making sake with yeast or fermenting kimchi, biotechnology is already familiar to us. In this article, we’re going to introduce the insulin production method using E. coli, which is said to be the origin of the academic and industrial development of biotechnology.
When families gather during the holidays, we often see diabetics receiving insulin injections. It’s as important to diabetics as eating, because without insulin injections, blood sugar levels rise. Why do people with diabetes need to inject insulin and why is biotech insulin production important?
The human body is made up of the interaction of hormones. Hormones are substances that promote or inhibit certain behaviors. When we don”t have enough of a nutrient, we produce hormones that promote it, and when we have too much of it, we produce hormones that inhibit it. Conversely, when blood sugar levels are low, glucagon is released to raise them. When insulin secretion fails to lower blood sugar levels, diabetes occurs. There is no cure for diabetes, and the only way to lower blood sugar is to inject insulin.
Like most hormones, insulin is an organic compound with a very complex structure. It’s almost impossible to simply synthesize it in a chemistry lab. Previously, insulin was extracted from the interest of pigs, but this was expensive due to the limited amount of insulin that could be obtained from a single pig. The solution to this problem is the use of E. coli to produce insulin. E. coli is one of the most studied microorganisms in biology and is not harmful to humans. E. coli reproduces by binary fission, which means that it doubles its DNA and nutrients and then splits in half to form two individuals. The DNA is completely identical, so it can reliably produce the substances we want.
Here’s how insulin is produced Insert the insulin gene into E. coli so that it produces insulin. E. coli has circular, doughnut-shaped pieces of genetic material called plasmids, which are extracted in a specialized way. We use restriction enzymes to cut out the parts of the plasmid we don’t need, and then we use synthetic enzymes to attach the insulin gene. The plasmid is then placed into E. coli so that it can produce insulin.
Using E. coli to produce insulin has many advantages. First, it’s simpler than extracting it from pigs, and it can be done in much larger quantities. Second, it can be obtained in much larger quantities than from pigs, which raises ethical issues. Third, it can be mass-produced, which could lower the cost of insulin injections.
Biotechnology is still in its infancy compared to mechanical, chemical, and civil engineering, but it is a field that is highly anticipated because of its unpredictable future. The scale of factories required in biotechnology is not as large as in other industries, so it can be profitable with relatively little investment. It is expected to continue to make great progress and contribute to the long-standing dream of immortality.