Enhanced skin drug delivery using dissolving microneedles: a potential approach for the management of skin disorders

ABSTRACT

Introduction

For decades, finding effective long-term or disease-modifying treatments for skin disorders has been a major focus of scientists. The conventional drug delivery systems showed poor efficacy with high doses and are associated with side effects, which lead to challenges in adherence to therapy. Therefore, to overcome the limitations of conventional drug delivery systems, drug delivery research has focused on topical, transdermal, and intradermal drug delivery systems. Among all, the dissolving microneedles have gained attention with a new range of advantages of drug delivery in skin disorders such as breaching skin barriers with minimal discomfort and its simplicity of application to the skin, which allows patients to administer it themselves.

Areas covered

This review highlighted the insights into dissolving microneedles for different skin disorders in detail. Additionally, it also provides evidence for its effective utilization in the treatment of various skin disorders. The clinical trial status and patents for dissolving microneedles for the management of skin disorders are also covered.

Expert opinion

The current review on dissolving microneedles for skin drug delivery is accentuating the breakthroughs achieved so far in the management of skin disorders. The output of the discussed case studies anticipated that dissolving microneedles can be a novel drug delivery strategy for the long-term treatment of skin disorders.

KEYWORDS:

• Dissolving microneedles
• drug delivery
• macromolecules
• skin disorders
• transdermal delivery

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the PhD fellowship from DST-INSPIRE, Govt. of India [#IF210090] and Department of Health Research, ICMR, Govt of India (project I.D. 11013/36/2021-GIA/HR).

Article highlights

• Skin disorders have a prominent impact on a person’s daily life.

• Dissolving MNs demonstrated efficiency in treating skin disorders with improved adherence to therapy.

• Dissolving MNs deliver active moiety at the target sites.

• Recent developments, trends, clinical trial status, patents, and future directions of dissolving MNs are highlighted.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, or options, expert testimony, grants, or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers in this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.