Polymeric microneedles for transdermal protein delivery

Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2018 Mar 1:127:106-118. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2018.01.015. Epub 2018 Jan 31.

Abstract

The intrinsic properties of therapeutic proteins generally present a major impediment for transdermal delivery, including their relatively large molecule size and susceptibility to degradation. One solution is to utilize microneedles (MNs), which are capable of painlessly traversing the stratum corneum and directly translocating protein drugs into the systematic circulation. MNs can be designed to incorporate appropriate structural materials as well as therapeutics or formulations with tailored physicochemical properties. This platform technique has been applied to deliver drugs both locally and systemically in applications ranging from vaccination to diabetes and cancer therapy. This review surveys the current design and use of polymeric MNs for transdermal protein delivery. The clinical potential and future translation of MNs are also discussed.

Keywords: Drug delivery; Microneedle; Protein delivery; Transdermal; Vaccine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Cutaneous
  • Drug Delivery Systems*
  • Humans
  • Microinjections*
  • Needles*
  • Polymers* / chemistry
  • Proteins / administration & dosage*
  • Proteins / metabolism
  • Proteins / pharmacokinetics*
  • Skin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Polymers
  • Proteins