Experimental and theoretical studies of drug-polymer interactions to control the drug distributions in dissolving microneedles

Publication date: 25 April 2020Source: Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Volume 84Author(s): Jing Ling Liu, Yun Hao Feng, Xiao Peng Zhang, Dan Dan Zhu, Li Qin Zhang, Xin Dong GuoAbstractDissolving microneedles (DMNs) have attracted extensive attention for transdermal drug delivery in recent years. Generally, the skin elasticity impedes DMNs to fully insert into skin thus optimized fabrication methods are needed to improve delivery efficiency. Here, we investigated the formulations of DMNs as the main influencing factors during the microneedle preparation process. Through the selection of the matrix materials and the optimization of the ratio and formulae, the DMNs can meet the requirements of convenient and effective drug delivery. For DMNs prepared with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as matrix material, the 25 wt% concentration of PVA was beneficial to prepare MNs, which MNs was able to focus drug on the part of MN tips. However, for DMNs fabricated with hyaluronic acid (HA), the increasing material concentration had a weaker ability to concentrate drug in MNs and increased the difficulty of preparing MNs. The computer simulation analysis was consistent with the results of the experiment, indicating the feasibility of modelling to investigate the preparation technology of DMNs that offer appropriate, convenient and highly efficient drug delivery.Graphical abstract
Source: Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research