Silk Fibroin Microneedles for Transdermal Drug Delivery: Where Do We Stand and How Far Can We Proceed?
Zhenzhen Qi,
Zheng Yan,
Guohongfang Tan,
Tianshuo Jia,
Yiyu Geng,
Huiyan Shao,
Subhas C. Kundu,
Shenzhou Lu
Affiliations
Zhenzhen Qi
National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Zheng Yan
National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Guohongfang Tan
National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Tianshuo Jia
National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Yiyu Geng
National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Huiyan Shao
National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Subhas C. Kundu
3Bs Research Group, I3Bs Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegrabilities, and Biomimetics, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University of Minho, AvePark, Guimaraes, 4805-017 Barco, Portugal
Shenzhou Lu
National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
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.
