Atorvastatin-Loaded Dissolving Microarray Patches for Long-Acting Microdepot Delivery: Comparison of Nanoparticle and...

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Prolonged-release drug formulations enhance patient compliance but often require invasive methods like injections.
• Achieving sustained drug release beyond 24 hours noninvasively remains a challenge, particularly for patients with needle phobia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate novel dissolving microarray patches (D-MAPs) loaded with atorvastatin (ATR) microparticles (MPs) or nanocrystals (NCs) for noninvasive, long-acting intradermal delivery.
• To assess the potential of D-MAPs as a minimally invasive alternative for managing hyperlipidemia over a two-week period.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of ATR-loaded MP-D-MAPs and NC-D-MAPs.
• In vitro skin deposition studies to quantify ATR release over 24 hours.
• In vivo pharmacokinetic study in Sprague-Dawley rats to evaluate ATR delivery over 14 days.

Main Results:

• MP-D-MAPs showed higher ATR loading (5.15 mg/patch) compared to NC-D-MAPs (2.4 mg/patch).
• MP-D-MAPs demonstrated superior 24-hour skin delivery (2.0 mg/patch, 38.76% loaded) versus NC-D-MAPs (0.89 mg/patch, 38.42% loaded).
• In vivo studies confirmed sustained therapeutic ATR concentrations (>20 ng/mL) for 14 days post-single application of MP-D-MAPs.

Conclusions:

• ATR-loaded MP-D-MAPs provide effective, long-acting transdermal drug delivery for up to 14 days after a single application.
• The D-MAP technology, especially with microparticle loading, represents a promising, minimally invasive alternative for atorvastatin delivery.
• This innovative approach has the potential to significantly improve patient compliance and therapeutic outcomes in hyperlipidemia management.