Combination therapy using multifunctional dissolvable hyaluronic acid microneedles for oral ulcers

Wenhui Ge; Yijun Gao; Liming He; Yiyu Zeng; Junhui Liu; Yi Yu; Xiaoyan Xie; Ren-Ai Xu

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126333

Combination therapy using multifunctional dissolvable hyaluronic acid microneedles for oral ulcers

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Aug 14:251:126333. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126333. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Wenhui Ge¹, Yijun Gao¹, Liming He², Yiyu Zeng¹, Junhui Liu³, Yi Yu¹, Xiaoyan Xie⁴, Ren-Ai Xu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Stomatology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, PR China.
² Changsha Stomatological Hospital, Changsha 410005, PR China.
³ Xiangya Stomatological Hospital, Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha 410000, PR China.
⁴ Department of Stomatology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, PR China. Electronic address: xyxie@csu.edu.cn.
⁵ The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, PR China. Electronic address: xra@wmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37586633
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126333

Abstract

Oral ulcers are common in the oral mucosa. Frequent occurrences of oral ulcers commonly afflict patients, seriously impacting their daily life. Treatments with good anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties are important for promoting the healing of oral ulcers. In this study, a multifunctional, soluble hyaluronic acid (HA) microneedle (MN) patch was prepared to promote oral ulcer healing. The tip layer of the MN patch was loaded with triamcinolone acetonide (TA) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) to inhibit inflammation and promote angiogenesis. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was loaded onto the base layer of the MN patch, which effectively released Zn²⁺ to mediate antibacterial effects. In addition, HA exerts a protective effect on the mucous membrane. Owing to these properties, the multifunctional MN patches were found to have good anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and tissue-healing abilities, indicating that the multifunctional MN patch design successfully promoted the healing of oral ulcers.

Keywords: Dissolvable microneedles; Epidermal growth factor; Hyaluronic acid; Oral ulcers; Triamcinolone acetonide; ZIF-8.