A review on microneedle patch as a delivery system for proteins/peptides and their applications in transdermal...

Transdermal delivery is one of the most recent modes of administration studied due to several shortfalls observed for intra-venous, and oral drug administrations. Among, microneedle-based transdermal delivery is the popular choice due to non-invasive procedure and minimal toxicological effects. Microneedle devices consist of micron scaled needle patch entrapped with the target specific drug molecules. Due to body's immune response and occasional pathogen attack, various inflammatory diseases are developed such as psoriasis, dermatitis, rashes, rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, and fibrosis. These inflammatory conditions can be treated by microneedle assisted transdermal delivery. Moreover, for localized suppression of pain and inflammation, various therapeutic peptides and proteins have been investigated. Although, these therapeutic agents can show reduced activity and undergo enzymatic degradation when administered orally or intra-venously. Hence, a microneedle-based delivery system can be used as an effective way to localize these peptides/proteins and reduce the inflammation. Herein, this review includes various microneedle fabrication methods for enhancing drug delivery for suppression of inflammation. Moreover, recent development in microneedle devices of peptide and protein delivery applications are discoursed. At last, future scope and challenges endured for preparing an efficient microneedle patch for peptide and protein delivery are also elaborated.