Breathable, Stretchable Electroporation Patches for Drug Delivery.

Abstract

Arthritis has become a widespread global health issue with the aging population. Wearable transdermal drug delivery offers a promising treatment with high bioavailability and sustained drug concentrations. However, current technologies struggle with issues such as high cost, low comfort, risk of infection, or tissue pain and damage. Here, we present a breathable, stretchable electroporation patch (BSEP) that seamlessly integrates the traditional drug patch with electroporation-enhanced transdermal drug delivery technology in a low-cost manner. Conductive ink was patterned and deposited onto a breathable and stretchable non-woven fabric substrate using screen printing. A unique serpentine interdigitated design for stretchable electrodes was adopted to precisely localize the electric field within the superficial layers of the skin, reducing voltage in deep tissues by >50% and minimizing potential damage. Cytotoxicity tests and histological analyses confirmed the biocompatibility and safety of the materials and device. Finally, animal experiments validated the effectiveness of the BSEP in enhancing drug delivery, achieving a two-threefold increase in skin penetration compared to the control group. These findings collectively suggest that the developed BSEP holds significant promise for transdermal drug delivery applications.