Challenges and Strategies in Developing Microneedle Patches for Transdermal Delivery of Protein and Peptide Therapeutics

Title:Challenges and Strategies in Developing Microneedle Patches for Transdermal Delivery of Protein and Peptide Therapeutics

Volume: 13 Issue: 7

Author(s): Fei Wu, Sixing Yang, Weien Yuan and Tuo Jin

Affiliation:

Keywords: Microneedles, proteins, peptides, delivery, hydrogel, controlled release.

Abstract: The birth of microneedles, an array of needles sufficiently long to penetrate epidermis but small enough to do not cause skin injury and pain feeling, has offered a highly promising solution for non-invasive delivery of protein and peptide drugs, a long-cherished desire over eighty years. However, the attempts to develop clinically feasible microneedle transdermal delivery methods encountered series of difficulties, for which a decade research efforts have yet to result in a single product. Microneedles may be incorporated into devices as skin pre-treatment tools, skin microinjectors as well as transdermal patches by their functions in drug delivery. They may also be categorized to insoluble solid microneedles, hollow microneedles, soluble/degradable solid microneedles and phase-transition microneedles by their structure and forming materials. This review article is aimed to update the progress and discuss the technical challenges raised in developing protein/peptide loaded microneedle patches.

Cite this article as:

Wu Fei, Yang Sixing, Yuan Weien and Jin Tuo, Challenges and Strategies in Developing Microneedle Patches for Transdermal Delivery of Protein and Peptide Therapeutics, Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology 2012; 13 (7) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138920112800624319