Controlled Delivery of Insulin Using Rapidly Separating Microneedles Fabricated from Genipin-Crosslinked Gelatin

Rapidly separating genepin-crosslinked gelatin (RS-GC) microneedles (MNs) mounted on the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-coated polylactic acid (PLA) MNs (RS-PGC-MNs) are fabricated, in which GC-MNs deliver insulin within the skin and the PLA supporting array is easily separated by the dissolution of the PVA layer. The release of insulin is controlled by utilizing the virtue of genipin as a crosslinking agent for producing biocompatible GC-MNs. The degree of crosslinking enhances the mechanical strength as well as humidity resistance. The in vitro and in vivo insulin release tests show significant changes in the release rates in the RS-PGC-MNs with different crosslinking degree. The hypoglycemic effect in diabetic mice demonstrate that the higher crosslinking GC-MNs result in characteristic controlled insulin release compared with other treatments and prolonged effectiveness of the RS-PGC-MNs. The proposed RS-PGC-MNs is a promising device for effective use as a noninvasive and painless controlled insulin delivery system.