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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Author Spotlight: Innovative Microneedle-Based Strategies for Enhanced Exosome Delivery and Stability
Published on: July 12, 2024
Protein-Capturing Microgel-Integrated Microneedle Array Patches for Enhanced Tip-Loading, Storage Stability, and
Ki Hyun Bae1, Kun Liang2,3, Brandon Y L Seow1
1Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore.
Abstract:
Microneedles have gained increasing attention as an ideal device for transdermal drug delivery; however, their application to proteins has been a challenging task because of their inadequate tip-loading and unsatisfactory stability. Herein, we report the development of a microgel-integrated microneedle array patch (MI-MAP) capable of not only localizing protein cargoes in the tip portion but also stabilizing them via protein-phenolic interactions. Incorporation of protein-capturing microgels allows enrichment of protein cargoes within the tip region of microneedles, resulting in a significant enhancement in their transdermal delivery performance. MI-MAP enables more effective stabilization of labile recombinant proteins, such as botulinum neurotoxin, human interferon alpha-2a, and SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD), during storage at 25 °C for 28 days compared to the counterpart lacking the microgels (HA-MAP). Transdermal delivery of CpG-adjuvanted RBD using MI-MAP elicits a more rapid neutralizing antibody response and germinal center B-cell proliferation in mice than HA-MAP and subcutaneous injection, without causing any severe inflammation. This study presents a potential strategy for improving tip-loading and storage stability of recombinant proteins within microneedle structures.
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