Actively separated microneedle patch for sustained-release of growth hormone to treat growth hormone deficiency

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) has become a serious healthcare burden, and presents a huge impact on the physical and mental health of patients. Here, we developed an actively separated mi-croneedle patch (PAA/NaHCO3-Silk MN) based on silk protein for sustained release of recombinant hu-man growth hormone (rhGH). Silk protein, as a friendly carrier material for proteins, could be constructed in mild full-water conditions and ensure the activity of rhGH. After manually pressing PAA/NaHCO3- Silk MN patch to skin for 1 min, active separation is achieved by absorbing the interstitial fluid (ISF) to trigger HCO3- in the active backing layer to produce carbon dioxide gas (CO2). In rats, the MN patch could maintain the sustained release of rhGH for more than 7 days, and produce similar effects as daily subcutaneous (S.C.) injections of rhGH in promoting height and weight with well tolerated. Moreover, the PAA/NaHCO3-Silk MN patch with the potential of painless self-administration, does not require cold chain transportation and storage possess great economic benefits. Overall, the PAA/NaHCO3-Silk MN patch can significantly improve patient compliance and increase the availability of drugs, meet current unmet clinical needs, improve clinical treatment effects of GHD patients. 2023 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

A micro-needle patch based on silk protein has been developed for sustained release of recombinant human growth hormone, providing a new treatment method for growth hormone deficiency.