Microneedles with therapeutic gas: integrating drug propulsion and intrinsic bioactivity

IF 7.7 2区材料科学 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Science China Materials Pub Date : 2026-05-21 DOI:10.1007/s40843-025-4027-0

Chunqing Lv (, ), Ergui Luo (, ), Wenjuan Wang (, ), Zhi Du (, ), Di Huang (, )

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Microneedle (MN)-based transdermal delivery systems enhance skin permeability by creating microscale conduits through the stratum corneum, enabling controlled and sustained release of therapeutics. Nevertheless, conventional MN designs predominantly rely on passive diffusion, resulting in shallow drug penetration depth and limited spatial distribution range, which significantly restricts their therapeutic efficacy in complex biological environments. Emerging advancements have integrated gas therapy into MN platforms to overcome these limitations. The released therapeutic gases facilitate deeper drug penetration via propulsion and also exhibit inherent bioactivity, contributing to synergistic treatment outcomes. This review summarizes the mechanisms, design strategies, and applications of gas-releasing MN systems, while highlighting key scientific and translational challenges, including the precise regulation of gas release, the development of multi-gas synergistic systems, the extension to deep-tissue therapy, and the assurance of biosafety. Future directions emphasize the construction of intelligent, stimuli-responsive MNs, the integration of interdisciplinary technologies to enhance delivery depth, and the establishment of standardized, scalable manufacturing frameworks. Collectively, this work aims to advance gas-releasing MN technology toward precise, efficient, and controllable therapeutic applications, bridging the gap between laboratory research and clinical translation.

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带治疗气体的微针：整合药物推进力和内在生物活性

基于微针（MN）的透皮给药系统通过创建穿过角质层的微尺度导管来增强皮肤渗透性，从而实现治疗药物的控制和持续释放。然而，传统的MN设计主要依赖于被动扩散，导致药物渗透深度浅，空间分布范围有限，严重制约了其在复杂生物环境中的治疗效果。新兴技术已经将气体疗法集成到MN平台中，以克服这些限制。释放的治疗气体通过推进作用促进更深的药物渗透，并表现出固有的生物活性，有助于协同治疗结果。本文综述了气体释放MN系统的机制、设计策略和应用，同时强调了关键的科学和转化挑战，包括气体释放的精确调节、多气体协同系统的开发、向深层组织治疗的扩展以及生物安全性的保证。未来的发展方向强调构建智能的、刺激响应式的机器神经网络，融合跨学科技术以增强交付深度，建立标准化的、可扩展的制造框架。总的来说，这项工作旨在推进气体释放MN技术向精确、高效和可控的治疗应用，弥合实验室研究和临床转化之间的差距。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Science China Materials Materials Science-General Materials Science

CiteScore

11.40

自引率

7.40%

发文量

949

期刊介绍： Science China Materials (SCM) is a globally peer-reviewed journal that covers all facets of materials science. It is supervised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The journal is jointly published monthly in both printed and electronic forms by Science China Press and Springer. The aim of SCM is to encourage communication of high-quality, innovative research results at the cutting-edge interface of materials science with chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering. It focuses on breakthroughs from around the world and aims to become a world-leading academic journal for materials science.