Silk Fibroin Microneedles for Transdermal Drug Delivery: Where Do We Stand and How Far Can We Proceed?

Abstract

Microneedles are a patient-friendly technique for delivering drugs to the site of action in place of traditional oral and injectable administration. Silk fibroin represents an interesting polymeric biomaterial because of its mechanical properties, thermal stability, biocompatibility and possibility of control via genetic engineering. This review focuses on the critical research progress of silk fibroin microneedles since their inception, analyzes in detail the structure and properties of silk fibroin, the types of silk fibroin microneedles, drug delivery applications and clinical trials, and summarizes the future development trend in this field. It also proposes the future research direction of silk fibroin microneedles, including increasing drug loading doses and enriching drug loading types as well as exploring silk fibroin microneedles with stimulation-responsive drug release functions. The safety and effectiveness of silk fibroin microneedles should be further verified in clinical trials at different stages.

Fabrication of Silk Fibroin‐Derived Fibrous Scaffold for Biomedical Frontiers

“…SF microneedles offer the unique advantage of precise targeting for treatment locations. [ 148 ] A noteworthy application is in transdermal insulin delivery, specifically developing proline/SF microneedles. These microneedles have been engineered to transform the SF structure, enabling them to effectively pierce the skin's outer layer (stratum corneum).…”

Tunable theranostics: innovative strategies in combating oral cancer

“…According to Ganeson et al (2023) the utilization of this approach enables accurate regulation of drug concentration by means of spatial and temporal manipulation of drug release, hence reducing the adverse impact on healthy tissues. Furthermore, the utilization of microneedles offers convenient application and offers a painless approach to medication delivery, hence serving as a patient-centric substitute for conventional methods of oral or injectable administration ( Qi et al, 2023 ). In addition, previous studies have investigated the potential of microneedles in the administration of vaccines to the oral mucosa, a factor that may have implications in the field of oral cancer therapy ( Creighton & Woodrow, 2019 ).…”

Layer-by-Layer Microneedle-Mediated rhEGF Transdermal Delivery for Enhanced Wound Epidermal Regeneration and Angiogenesis

“…Thus, in the application of tissue repair engineering, MN are poised to take the following advantages: (A) rapid and stable uptake, especially for biomacromolecule drugs (e.g., proteins, polypeptides, cytokines, vaccines, etc. ); (B) reduced or eliminated pain by controlling the length of MN to avoid touching capillaries and nerve endings; (C) convenient administration mode for self-use; and (D) needle tips penetrating so easily into the corneum and cargoes inserted so directly into the epidermis or dermis that the therapeutic effect and bioavailability are significantly improved. , For wound pro-healing of growth factors (GF), examples are microneedle arrays integrated with temperature-sensitive delivery, biphasic dissolving release, and self-powered transcutaneous electrical stimulation. − Hence, without external stimuli or other functional supports, the currently developed MN have possessed single structures and weakened mechanical stability in the wound physiological environment, leading to unmanageable dissolution and cargo release, which fails to achieve effective blood drug concentrations during the inflammatory and repair stages . Moreover, to stay at the treatment window, concentrated burst release of GF (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor) in the wound bed often requires a large amount of addition.…”