Adhesive Hydrogel Patch with Enhanced Strength and Adhesiveness to Skin for Transdermal Drug Delivery

Abstract

Transdermal drug delivery patches based on hydrogels are widely used for the transdermal delivery of diverse drugs. However, most hydrogels do not exhibit adequate adhesiveness to skin surface. Herein, tissue adhesive hydrogels consisting of polyacrylamide/polydopamine (PAM/PDA) hydrogels embedded with extra-large pore mesoporous silica nanoparticles (XL-MSNs) are proposed based on the synergy of cohesive and adhesive properties. The incorporation of XL-MSNs leads to enhanced strength and adhesiveness to skin tissue due to an increased cohesive property derived from molecular interactions between XL-MSNs and polymer chains. The application of XL-MSNs to the hydrogel-skin tissue interface leads to a further enhanced adhesiveness due to the adhesive gluing role of XL-MSNs on the interface. The optimized condition enables a 4.9-fold increase in adhesion energy on the porcine skin tissue, compared to the control PAM/PDA patch. Strong adhesion is achieved immediately after the hydrogel patch is attached onto the skin as well as the surfaces of other organs. Finally, transdermal drug delivery through porcine skin is demonstrated by using the hydrogel patch, with a model drug loaded in the XL-MSNs embedded in the patch. These observations indicate a simple but highly effective strategy for preparing a highly adhesive hydrogel patch for transdermal drug delivery.

An Intelligent Transdermal Formulation of ALA‐Loaded Copolymer Thermogel with Spontaneous Asymmetry by Using Temperature‐Induced Sol–Gel Transition and Gel–Sol (Suspension) Transition on Different Sides

“…During the recent decades, intelligent hydrogels have been investigated extensively [1][2][3][4] and widely applied in biomedicine. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] While many efforts have been made to prepare various hydrogels as sustained release carriers of drugs, [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] little is known about the unique role of any intelligent hydrogel in a transdermal formulation for local photodynamic therapy (PDT) of a skin disease, where a sustained release is, however, usually not required.…”

Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles and Mesoporous Bioactive Glasses for Wound Management: From Skin Regeneration to Cancer Therapy

“…In the case of the hair follicle route, it has been verified that it forms a substantial reservoir for topically functional molecules [ 93 ] and nanoparticles [ 94 , 95 ] as a result of its functional location, which mediates the diffusion across the capillary walls of the stored molecules to the surrounding areas. MSNs have been previously utilized for enhancing the strength and adhesiveness of hydrogels to skin for transdermal drug delivery [ 96 ]. In fact, the cohesive property of the constructs can be improved as a consequence of molecular interactions between MSNs and polymer chains.…”

New Horizons in Hydrogels for Methotrexate Delivery

“…Oral, rectal, ocular, vaginal, and transdermal routes are considered to design the drug delivery systems. Hydrogels possessing unique properties widely used for transdermal drug delivery [ 68 , 69 , 70 ]. Recently, microneedles are considered as an enhanced delivery technique and applying this method for transdermal drug delivery provides a promising alternative to previous methods [ 71 ].…”