A dissolving microneedle patch loaded with plumbagin/hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex for infected...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Natural Product Chemistry

Background:

• Antibiotic resistance poses a significant challenge in treating infected wounds.
• Natural products like Plumbagin (PLB) offer potential antimicrobial solutions.
• PLB's clinical application is hindered by poor solubility, instability, and sublimation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel dissolving microneedle patch for enhanced delivery of Plumbagin (PLB).
• To improve PLB's solubility and stability using a hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) inclusion complex.
• To evaluate the efficacy of the PLB-loaded microneedle patch in treating infected wounds.

Main Methods:

• Plumbagin (PLB) was encapsulated into hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) via neutralization agitation.
• A dissolving microneedle patch was fabricated using hyaluronic acid (HA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) loaded with the PLB/HP-β-CD complex.
• In vitro and in vivo studies assessed PLB solubility, stability, drug release, antibacterial activity, and wound healing efficacy.

Main Results:

• The PLB/HP-β-CD inclusion complex significantly increased PLB water solubility by 17-fold (1350 ± 6.8 μg/mL) with high encapsulation efficiency (94.82 ± 3.34%).
• The microneedle patch demonstrated rapid in vitro drug release within 15 minutes.
• PLB microneedles showed potent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and accelerated infected wound healing in mice by promoting collagen deposition, re-epithelialization, reducing inflammation, and stimulating angiogenesis.

Conclusions:

• The developed HA/PVP dissolving microneedle patch effectively overcomes PLB's limitations, enhancing its solubility and stability.
• The PLB-loaded microneedle patch exhibits significant antibacterial properties and promotes infected wound healing.
• This multifunctional microneedle patch presents a promising strategy for the clinical treatment of infected wounds.