Insulin that doesn't need a fridge or a needle

A young Monash University chemist and her colleagues have successfully strengthened insulin's chemical structure without affecting its activity.

The new insulin structure means that it won't need refrigeration.

The team from Australia's Monash University's Chemistry Department in the Faculty of Science has just filed a series of patents with the support of their long-term commercial partner ASX-listed Circadian Technologies.

Together, they're negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to start the long process of getting the invention out of the laboratory and into the homes of people with diabetes.

Team researcher Bianca van Lierop said they're also using their knowledge to develop a form of insulin that could be delivered by pill.

"Over two hundred million people need insulin to manage diabetes, but we still don't how it works at a molecular level," Ms van Lierop said.

Her work is being presented for the first time in public through Fresh Science, a communication 'boot camp' for early-career scientists held at the Melbourne Museum.