PEGDA/PVP Microneedles with Tailorable Matrix Constitutions for Controllable Transdermal Drug Delivery

Abstract

Polymeric microneedles have attracted increasing interest for transdermal drug delivery owing to the unique advantages of minimal invasiveness, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and efficient drug‐loading capacity. However, drug release from polymeric microneedles lacks controllability during transdermal administration. Herein, a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PEGDA/PVP) microneedle patch with tailorable matrix constitutions is designed and fabricated using a two‐step ultraviolet (UV) light‐induced polymerization method. Scanning electron microscopic characterization reveals a non‐uniform interior matrix of microneedles, resulting from the aggregation of PVP in the polymerized PEGDA matrix induced by UV irradiation. The fabricated microneedles are found to show sufficient mechanical strength for skin penetration and they can be removed intact after application. The controllable release property of rhodamine B (RhB)‐loaded PEGDA/PVP microneedles is demonstrated in vitro by tuning the fraction of PVP content. The typical characteristics including initial burst and subsequent sustained release are attributed to the rapid dissolution of PVP and prolonged swelling of PEGDA, respectively. In addition, the microneedle insertion site can be completely recovered within 1 h on a porcine skin, indicating the minimally invasive feature of microneedle‐mediated therapeutic delivery. This scalable microneedle platform may serve as a convenient and effective drug carrier for transdermal delivery of various pharmaceuticals under precise control.

3D Printed Multi-Functional Hydrogel Microneedles Based on High-Precision Digital Light Processing

“…Photosensitive resin used in SLA has poor biocompatibility [19,20]. Combining template driven fabrication with UV curing materials is a complicated process [21,22]. Comparing with those microneedles, hydrogel microneedles could be used for drug loading and the drug loading capacity is greatly increased.…”

“…Ultraviolet (UV) photosensitive resin is commonly used in SLA, but photosensitive resin has poor biocompatibility [19,20]. At the same time, there are some methods combining template driven fabrication with UV curing materials, which make materials cross-linking into strong structure [21,22]. But the fabrication process is complex.…”

Polymeric Microneedle Arrays: Versatile Tools for an Innovative Approach to Drug Administration

“…[13] Beyond synthetic materials, which can be tuned for specific applications, many natural substances that could form polymeric structures have also been proposed for MN array preparation, such as cellulose, chitin, silk, sugars, and hyaluronic acid. [13] Beyond synthetic materials, which can be tuned for specific applications, many natural substances that could form polymeric structures have also been proposed for MN array preparation, such as cellulose, chitin, silk, sugars, and hyaluronic acid.…”

“…microneedle arrays based on a mixture of PEG diacrylate (PEGDA) and PVP can be found in the paper of Gao et al, although the reported work is a proof-of-concept study of rhodamine B (RhB) release in different PEGDA/PVP preparation mixtures. [13] Beyond synthetic materials, which can be tuned for specific applications, many natural substances that could form polymeric structures have also been proposed for MN array preparation, such as cellulose, chitin, silk, sugars, and hyaluronic acid. [9] One of the most interesting products developed in the last year is reported in another paper by Gao et al: a hybrid device made of porous silk fibroin scaffolds cast in PEGDA/sucrose microneedles for transdermal drug administration.…”

“…An extensive review on the biomedical use of hydrogels can be found in the paper of Xue et al . A complete study on polymeric microneedle arrays based on a mixture of PEG diacrylate (PEGDA) and PVP can be found in the paper of Gao et al., although the reported work is a proof‐of‐concept study of rhodamine B (RhB) release in different PEGDA/PVP preparation mixtures …”