Table 1: Durations of action of different insulin preparations

Insulin preparation		Onset (h)	Peak (h)	Duration (h)
Rapid-acting	Insulin analogues: lispro, aspart, glulisine	< 0.5	0.5 – 2.5	3 – 4.5
Short-acting	Regular, soluble insulin	0.5 – 1	1 – 4	4 – 8
Intermediate-acting	Isophane (NPH), lente	1 – 3	3 – 8	7 – 14
Long-acting	Bovine ultralente	2 – 4	6 – 12	12 – 30
Long-acting	Insulin analogues: glargine, detemir	1 – 2	None	18 – 24

These are classified into rapid-, short-, intermediate- and long-acting insulin [3]