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Abstract
A microneedle system has been developed to deliver chemical and biological agents through the stratum corneum, which is the main barrier to drug delivery. Recently, microneedles have been fabricated from various kinds of polymers, including biocompatible polymer, biodegradable polymer, and water-soluble polymer. Polymer microneedles offer the benefits of ease of fabrication, cost-effectiveness, and mass production, as well as controlled drug release using the water solubility and degradation properties of polymer. In this review, the key features of polymer microneedles are discussed, including fabrication, materials, mechanical properties, drug delivery properties, and applications. Polymer microneedles provide a promising method for transdermal drug delivery by utilizing various physical and chemical properties of polymer.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Mark R. Prausnitz and Sebastien Henry at Georgia Institute of Technology for helpful discussion.
Declaration of interest
This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2011–0022214) and in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The authors report no conflicts of interest.