Transdermal microneedles for drug delivery applications

Transdermal drug delivery (TDD) has many advantages, the main one being the ability to maintain the prolonged release of drugs to attain optimal blood concentrations. Unfortunately, nature has provided a very effective protective barrier, the stratum corneum (sc), which limits TDD to certain types of drugs with specific properties. In order to enhance TDD, the idea of using microneedles to painlessly penetrate the sc barrier has previously been proposed. In this paper, we will review the different microneedles that are currently being developed as well as our own efforts in this area. Based on our experiences, we will offer our view on the key parameters for effective transdermal microneedle design as well as future directions in this area. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.