Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease. Microneedle (MN) patches can improve psoriasis treatment outcomes by increasing local drug content in the skin. As psoriasis frequently relapses, developing intelligent MN-based drug delivery systems with prolonged therapeutic drug levels and improved treatment efficiency is of great significance. Here, we designed detachable H2O2-responsive gel-based MN patches containing methotrexate (MTX) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) by using EGCG as both cross-linkers for needle-composited materials and anti-inflammatory drugs. The gel-based MNs had dual-mode drug release kinetics, which quickly released MTX diffusively and sustainably released EGCG in an H2O2-responsive way. Compared with dissolving MNs, the gel-based MNs extended skin retention of EGCG, leading to prolonged reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging effects. The ROS-responsive MN patches that transdermally delivered antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory drugs improved treatment outcomes in both psoriasis-like and prophylactic psoriasis-like animal models.
Keywords: ROS-responsive; drug delivery; inflammation; microneedle; psoriasis.