Micro/nano needles for advanced drug delivery

Along with the boost of drugs’ exploitation, drug delivery has been a common concern among researchers and patients. As an emerging strategy, the micro- and nano-needle (MNN) is a single or an array of micro/nanoneedles, and promises to be a robust technology for efficient, noninvasive and convenient drug delivery. Compared with the conventional injection, MNN can pierce the bio-membranes to transfer cargos without any damage of tissue or nerves. And regarding the topical drug release, MNN is more efficient than oral administration and topical cream. More specifically, microneedle, a powerful technique, has been widely applied in different diseases such as diabetes, anti-obesity and contraception through skin and ocular surface. Correspondingly, many novel microneedles and optimization methods have been developed recently to improve the drug delivery efficacy. Nanoneedle, much smaller than microneedle, can minimize the skin damages caused by the repeated use of microneedles. Nanoneedles with nanoscaled size are usually used to penetrate the cell membrane. And recently many stimulus-aided methods like electrical and magnetic force have been invented to deepen penetration and improve transfer effects. The aim of this review is to introduce the recent advances of MNN-based drug delivery, including their types, application locations and diseases, optimization of delivery strategies and future development prospects.