Polymeric microneedle-mediated sustained release systems: Design strategies and promising applications for drug delivery

Parenteral sustained release drug formulations, acting as preferable platforms for longterm exposure therapy, have been wildly used in clinical practice. However, most of these delivery systems must be given by hypodermic injection. Therefore, issues including needle-phobic, needle-stick injuries and inappropriate reuse of needles would hamper the further applications of these delivery platforms. Microneedles (MNs) as a potential alternative system for hypodermic needles can benefit from minimally invasive and self-administration. Recently, polymeric microneedle-mediated sustained release systems (MN@SRS) have opened up a new way for treatment of many diseases. Here, we reviewed the recent researches in MN@SRS for transdermal delivery, and summed up its typical design strategies and applications in various diseases therapy, particularly focusing on the applications in contraception, infection, cancer, diabetes, and subcutaneous disease. An overview of the present clinical translation difficulties and future outlook of MN@SRS was also provided. (C) 2021 Shenyang Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

Parenteral sustained release drug formulations have been widely used in clinical practice as preferable platforms for long-term exposure therapy. However, the requirement for hypodermic injection hinders their further applications due to issues such as needle-phobia, needle-stick injuries, and inappropriate needle reuse. Microneedles offer an alternative system that is minimally invasive and allows for self-administration.