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Review
. 2015 Nov 5;7(4):486-502.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics7040486.

Microneedle Coating Techniques for Transdermal Drug Delivery

Rita Haj-Ahmad  1 , Hashim Khan  2 , Muhammad Sohail Arshad  3   4 , Manoochehr Rasekh  5 , Amjad Hussain  6   7 , Susannah Walsh  8 , Xiang Li  9 , Ming-Wei Chang  10   11 , Zeeshan Ahmad  12
Affiliations
Review

Microneedle Coating Techniques for Transdermal Drug Delivery

Rita Haj-Ahmad et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

Drug administration via the transdermal route is an evolving field that provides an alternative to oral and parenteral routes of therapy. Several microneedle (MN) based approaches have been developed. Among these, coated MNs (typically where drug is deposited on MN tips) are a minimally invasive method to deliver drugs and vaccines through the skin. In this review, we describe several processes to coat MNs. These include dip coating, gas jet drying, spray coating, electrohydrodynamic atomisation (EHDA) based processes and piezoelectric inkjet printing. Examples of process mechanisms, conditions and tested formulations are provided. As these processes are independent techniques, modifications to facilitate MN coatings are elucidated. In summary, the outcomes and potential value for each technique provides opportunities to overcome formulation or dosage form limitations. While there are significant developments in solid degradable MNs, coated MNs (through the various techniques described) have potential to be utilized in personalized drug delivery via controlled deposition onto MN templates.

Keywords: coating process; coatings; drug delivery; films; microneedles; particles.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustrated examples of techniques used to coat MNs. (a) Dip coating; (b) Gas-jet drying; (c) Spray drying; (d) EHDA processes; (e) Ink-jet printing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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