Drug delivery using dissolving or biodegradable polymer microneedles has garnered significant interest in drug administration because of their biocompatibility, fast dissolution, and high drug loading, as well as controlled-release drug delivery without the pain and inconvenience of hypodermic needle injection. In the present study, insulin encapsulated in cyclodextrin is incorporated into dissolving polymer microneedles based on chitosan and then analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the drug release pattern is measured for a period of 24 h using UV-spectrophotometry. Results indicate that drug releases with an initially slight burst, which becomes sustained after a while and reaches its maximum during 24 h. Increasing the cyclodextrin loading results in an increase in the amount of cumulative release in microneedles.
Amiri, S., Soltani, R. Sustained transdermal delivery of insulin-cyclodextrin through the use of chitosan-based microneedle patches. Bull Mater Sci 49, 89 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12034-026-03602-x
The featured image: Diwe et al. DOI: 10.4314/njt.v43i2.11