Transdermal delivery of Chinese herbal medicine extract using dissolvable microneedles for hypertrophic scar treatment.
10.1016/j.apsb.2021.03.016
- Author:
Xiaoyu NING
1
;
Christian WIRAJA
2
;
Wan Ting Sharon CHEW
1
;
Chen FAN
3
;
Chenjie XU
1
Author Information
1. NTU Institute for Health Technologies, Interdisciplinary Graduate Group, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
2. School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637459, Singapore.
3. Skin Research Institute of Singapore, 8A Biomedical Grove, Singapore 138648, Singapore.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Drug delivery;
Hyaluronic acid;
Hypertrophic scarring;
Microneedle;
Shikonin;
Skin;
Traditional Chinese medicine;
Transdermal delivery
- From:
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B
2021;11(9):2937-2944
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Hypertrophic scars are unfavorable skin diseases characterized by excessive collagen deposition. Although systemic treatments exist in clinic to manage hypertrophic scars, they pose significant side effects and tend to lose efficacy over prolonged applications. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers as a promising candidate to treat pathological scars. A large number of TCMs have been studied to show anti-scarring effect, however, the natural barrier of the skin impedes their penetration, lowering its therapeutic efficacy. Herein, we reported the use of dissolvable hyaluronic acid (HA) microneedles (MNs) as a vehicle to aid the transdermal delivery of therapeutic agent, a model TCM called shikonin for the treatment of hypertrophic scars. Here, shikonin was mixed with HA to make MNs with adequate mechanical strength for skin penetration, making its dosage controllable during the fabrication process. The therapeutic effect of the shikonin HA MNs was studied
