Development of a dissolving microneedle-based enhanced micro-channeling system for skincare

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Topical liquid formulations, dissolving microneedles (DMNs), and microscale needles made of biodegradable materials have gained widespread use for the transdermal delivery of active compounds in skincare. However, skin barriers hinder the transdermal delivery of active compounds through topical liquid formulation application, and the effectiveness of DMNs in skincare is limited by low encapsulation capacity and incomplete insertion. This study employed a dissolvable micro-channeling system (DMCS) for the topical application of serum to enhance serum delivery through micro-channels embedded with DMNs. The efficacy of a DMCS for enhancing transdermal serum delivery was investigated by evaluating the intensity of allophycocyanin (APC) loaded with serum in porcine skin after topical-serum-only and combinatorial serum application. The results revealed that the APC intensity was significantly higher in the skin layer at a depth of 120-270 μm upon combinatorial serum application compared to serum-only application. Moreover, the clinical assessment of skin hydration, depigmentation, wrinkle improvement, elasticity, dermal density, skin pores, and skin soothing showed significantly improved efficacy with combinatorial serum application through DMCS, without any safety issues, compared to serum-only application. These findings demonstrate that combinatorial serum application via DMCS can potentially enhance skincare treatments with optimal transdermal delivery of active compounds.