The Discovery of Insulin

Abstract

The Discovery of Insulin Abstract. The initiative for the work that led to the discovery of insulin in Toronto in 1921 came from Frederik G. Banting. He worked under the direction of John J. R. Macleod in the Institute of Physiology at the University of Toronto. In his experimental program he was assisted by the student Charles H. Best. On dogs with experimental diabetes they demonstrated the blood sugar-lowering effect of pancreatic extracts. Thanks to collaboration with Macleod and James B. Collip, a biochemist from the University of Alberta who was on sabbatical in Toronto, the work was quickly crowned with success and the first clinical applications of the extracts became possible in early 1922. As early as 1923, Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Banting shared his half of the prize with Best, while Macleod shared his half with Collip. That their research was crowned with success is probably due in large part to Banting's abilities as a surgeon, Best's enthusiasm as a student, Collip's abilities as a biochemist and Macleod's prudence in bringing the group together and providing it with the necessary resources. In the 1950s, important advances were made in insulin research that were to spur further research in diabetology. These included the clarification of insulin structure and the possibility of measuring insulin in the blood. These two discoveries were awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (see Kasten 1). In the 1960s-70s, insulin manufacturers developed ever better purification methods, which eventually led to preparations with very good tolerability and only very rare allergies. Later, in the 1980s, the possibility of biotechnological production of insulin led to an ever-increasing spread of human insulin. Based on the same technology, insulin analogues were produced in the 1990s and then in the new millennium, which, as "designer insulins" so to speak, enabled new clinically interesting active profiles. Today's variety of available insulins, modern forms of insulin application (insulin pens, insulin pumps) and blood glucose self-monitoring or continuous glucose monitoring form the basis of modern intensive insulin therapy.