Microneedle and drug delivery across the skin: An overview

Abstract

The skin offers a route of administration with numerous advantages. However, one of the major limitations of this route is the limited number of drugs that possess the ideal physicochemical properties to passively diffuse through the skin barrier. Today, microneedle (MN) technology proved to be superior in the field of drug delivery. MN arrays are devices that consist of micron-sized projections which pierce the stratum corneum (SC), the main barrier for drug delivery across the skin. MN technology has the potential to provide a localised drug delivery with minimal toxicity and expand the range of drugs for transdermal and intradermal delivery. In this comprehensive review, MN technology was thoroughly discussed. Meeting regulatory standards and large-scale production is essential to advance MN technology into a cost-effectiveness commercial scale.