Drug Delivery and Translational Research - Featured Article: August 2019

This article in the August 2019 Issue of Drug Delivery and Translational Research (DDTR) introduces a novel use of pore-forming microneedles, in combination with thermoresponsive hydrogels, for sustained transdermal drug delivery.

We report, for the first time, the use of the conventional “poke and patch” transdermal drug delivery model - utilising an insoluble polymeric microneedle array and drug-loaded thermoresponsive poloxamer formulation – for sustained therapeutic release. The microneedle arrays were formulated using biocompatible polymers and used to create pores in the skin, the process called microporation. The drug-loaded poloxamer solution (Pluronic F®127) was then applied to the micropores formed in the skin. Subsequently, the poloxamer solution that filled the micropores was converted into gels under physiological conditions, forming in-situ drug depots which released the loaded therapeutic payloads into the skin in a sustained manner over 96 hours.

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The Editorial Board of DDTR selected this article as the best paper of this issue.