Poly(2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate) Hydrogel-Based Microneedles for Bioactive Release

• Published in: Bioengineering (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 7; p. 649
• Main Authors: Sharma, Manoj B., Abdelmohsen, Hend A. M., Kap, Özlem, Kilic, Volkan, Horzum, Nesrin, Cheneler, David, Hardy, John G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.06.2024
• Subjects: 17β-Estradiol; Antibiotics; Arrays; Biological activity; Composite materials; Curing; Design; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; estradiol; Hydrogels; Mechanical properties; Medical research; Melatonin; Meropenem; microneedles; Needles; Polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate; Sex hormones; Silicones; Skin; Soft tissues; Surfactants; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; meropenem; microneedles; hydrogels; drug delivery; melatonin; estradiol
• ISSN: 2306-5354; 2306-5354
• DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11070649

Microneedle arrays are minimally invasive devices that have been extensively investigated for the transdermal/intradermal delivery of drugs/bioactives. Here, we demonstrate the release of bioactive molecules (estradiol, melatonin and meropenem) from poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), pHEMA, hydrogel-based microneedle patches in vitro. The pHEMA hydrogel microneedles had mechanical properties that were sufficiently robust to penetrate soft tissues (exemplified here by phantom tissues). The bioactive release from the pHEMA hydrogel-based microneedles was fitted to various models (e.g., zero order, first order, second order). Such pHEMA microneedles have potential application in the transdermal delivery of bioactives (exemplified here by estradiol, melatonin and meropenem) for the treatment of various conditions.