Microneedle-Assisted Transdermal Delivery of Etanercept for Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

Pharmaceutics

Yongxing Zhao¹  Jian Cao¹  Ziyi Wang¹  Jing Yang¹  Jingjing Su¹  Jiabing Han¹  Nan Zhang¹ 

[1] Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China;

关键词: microneedle;    etanercept;    rheumatoid arthritis;    drug delivery;    hyaluronic acid;   

DOI  :  10.3390/pharmaceutics11050235

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complicated autoimmune disease. The clinical applications of etanercept (EN), a TNF-α inhibitor, can efficiently halt the development of RA. EN is mainly administrated by subcutaneous injection, which may cause low compliance, side effects, and infection risk. In this study, a hyaluronic acid crosslinked microneedle system (MN) was constructed as the transdermal alternative to deliver EN. We describe the formulation, fabrication, characterization, and transdermal insertion study of MN. In vitro bioactivity of EN was conducted and analyzed by dynamic light scattering and circular dichroism spectrum. In vivo evaluation of MN was studied on adjuvant-induced arthritis mice. The MN possessed sufficient mechanical strength, good biocompatibility, little influence on the bioactivity of EN, and high anti-inflammatory efficacy. This work represents a successful example of delivering macromolecule therapeutic treatment by MN for RA treatment. The transdermal delivery of EN by MN offers a new treatment option for RA patients.

【 授权许可】

Unknown