2023-10-18 バース大学
◆実験では、抗生物質を投与し、感染症を引き起こす細菌に対する効果的な反応を示しました。また、パッチは皮膚から液体を採取して医学的な分析に使用でき、ワクチンの投与やホルモンレベルのモニタリングにも適しています。今後は動物実験を経て、5〜10年以内に患者の使用が可能になる見通しです。
<関連情報>
- https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/no-more-big-needles-scientists-develop-a-skin-patch-that-painlessly-delivers-drugs-into-the-body/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772950823001905?via%3Dihub
抗菌剤放出ハイドロゲル形成マイクロニードル Antimicrobial releasing hydrogel forming microneedles
Joseph G. Turner, Maisem Laabei, Shuxian Li, Pedro Estrela, Hannah S. Leese
Biomaterials Advances Available online 23 May 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioadv.2023.213467
Highlights
•3D printed microneedles as templates for hydrogel microneedle fabrication
•Heat sensitive antibiotics encapsulated within hydrogel microneedle structure using a swell/deswell process
•Controlled tailorable release of antibiotics within therapeutic range
Abstract
Hydrogel-forming microneedle arrays as a technique for transdermal drug delivery show promise as an alternative to traditional drug delivery methods. In this work, hydrogel-forming microneedles have been created with effective, controlled delivery of amoxicillin and vancomycin within comparable therapeutic ranges to that of oral delivered antibiotics. Fabrication using reusable 3D printed master templates enabled quick and low-cost hydrogel microneedle manufacturing through micro-molding. By 3D printing at a tilt angle of 45° the resolution of the microneedle tip was improved by double (from ca. 64 μm down to 23 μm). Amoxicillin and vancomycin were encapsulated within the hydrogel’s polymeric network through a unique room temperature swell/deswell drug loading method within minutes, eliminating the need for an external drug reservoir. The hydrogel-forming microneedle mechanical strength was maintained, and successful penetration of porcine skin grafts observed with negligible damage to the needles or surrounding skin morphology. Hydrogel swell rate was tailored by altering the crosslinking density, resulting in controlled antimicrobial release for an applicable delivered dosage. The potent antimicrobial properties of the antibiotic-loaded hydrogel-forming microneedles against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, highlights the beneficial use of hydrogel-forming microneedles towards the minimally invasive transdermal drug delivery of antibiotics.
Graphical abstract
Stereolithography based 3D printing can be used to develop 3D printed microneedles. These 3D printed microneedles can then be used to form hydrogel-forming microneedles using a micro-molding process. Utilizing a swell/deswell drug loading method, antibiotics can be directly loaded within the hydrogel structure. With no effect of skin penetration ability, this results in a transdermal antibiotic delivery system.
