Recent advances of microneedles used towards stimuli-responsive drug delivery, disease theranostics, and bioinspired applications

Microneedles (MNs) as a minimally invasive tool have drawn increasing attention recently. They possess many prominent advantages, including pain-free, self-administration, and ease-of-disposal, when compared to the traditional administration tools. This review summarizes the latest developments of the MN technology and focuses on the advanced applications in stimuli-responsive drug delivery, disease theranostics, and bioinspired functions. Starting from a brief overview of different types of MNs based on their structures and materials, we then detail the fabrication strategies, including hot embossing, micro-molding, thermal-drawing lithography, magnetorheological lithography, laser-drilling, and the emerging 3D printing techniques. Later, the recent biomedical applications of these MNs are highlighted, including stimuli-responsive drug release for disease therapy, biosensing for disease diagnosis, and bioinspired applications.

Automated summary

Microneedles are minimally invasive tools that have gained increasing attention for their advantages such as pain-free, self-administration, and ease of disposal. This review summarizes the latest developments in microneedle technology and its advanced applications in biomedical field.