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The promise of microneedle technologies for drug delivery

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Abstract

Microneedle (MN) technologies offer the opportunity to improve patient access and target delivery of drugs and vaccines to specific tissues. When in the form of skin patches, MNs can be administered by personnel with minimal training, or could be self-administered by patients, which can improve access to medication, especially those usually requiring injection. Because MNs are small (usually sub-millimetre), they can be used for precise tissue targeting. MN patches have been extensively studied to administer vaccines and drugs in preclinical work as well as in multiple clinical trials. When formulated with biodegradable polymer, MNs can enable long-acting therapies by slowly releasing drug as the MNs biodegrade. Targeted drug delivery by hollow MNs has resulted in FDA-approved products that are able to inject vaccines to skin-resident immune cells to improve immune response and to target specific parts of the eye (e.g., suprachoroidal space) for increased efficacy and avoidance of side effects in other parts of the eye. Cosmetic products based on MN technologies are already in widespread use, mostly as anti-aging agents. With extensive research coupled with FDA-approved products, MN technology promises to continue is growth in research leading to products that can benefit patients.

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Acknowledgements

Ryan Donnelly is an inventor of patents that have been licenced to companies developing microneedle-based products and is a paid advisor to companies developing microneedle-based products. The resulting potential conflict of interest has been disclosed and is managed by Queen’s University Belfast. Mark Prausnitz is an inventor of patents, consultant to companies, and co-founder of companies based on microneedle technology. The resulting possible conflict of interest is disclosed here and is managed by Georgia Institute of Technology.

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  1. School of Pharmacy, Medical Biology Centre, Queen’s University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, UK

    Ryan F. Donnelly

  2. School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA

    Mark R. Prausnitz

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Donnelly, R.F., Prausnitz, M.R. The promise of microneedle technologies for drug delivery. Drug Deliv. and Transl. Res. 14, 573–580 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13346-023-01430-8

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