Polymeric Microneedle Patches for Controlled and Systemic Delivery of Therapeutic Nanoparticles

Presenter

Haylee Wagner

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Cathal J. Kearney, Department of Biomedical Engineering, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A90, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 5 (A81-A100) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Nanoparticles offer great potential as drug delivery vehicles, but achieving systemic release at therapeutically relevant doses poses a challenge. Currently, systemic delivery of nanoparticles is achieved through intravenous injection or oral administration; however, these approaches are limited by pain and challenges of surviving and escaping from the gastrointestinal tract, respectively. To overcome these limitations, microneedle patches (MNPs) are being explored as a minimally invasive approach to achieve systemic circulation of nanoparticles for disease treatment. Using MNPs, we hypothesize that we can modulate release by encapsulating nanoparticles in alginate, a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, to allow for consistent and pain-free dosing of bioactive nanoparticles. MNPs were fabricated by filling silicone molds with drug-loaded alginate and subsequently drying. To investigate release, patches were placed in PBS with samples taken at designated intervals over 60 minutes. After ensuring therapeutic release from MNPs, we investigated the impact of MNPs on skin architecture to assess the potential for release in vivo. To do this, an ex vivo release was performed on rat skin and observed for epidermal disruption. In vitro assays are underway to confirm the bioactivity of MNP-released nanoparticles as compared to stock solutions. We expect this study to validate the therapeutic release and bioactivity of nanoparticles from our MNPs in addition to showing effective epidermal permeation. By applying this system to a variety of nanocarriers, MNPs show great promise to improve and optimize nanoparticle delivery for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, diabetes, bacterial infections, and more.

Keywords

Drug delivery, Biomaterials , Nanoparticles, Microneedle Patches, Disease treatment

Research Area

Engineering

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