Fabrication and mechanical properties of hyaluronic acid microneedle arrays for transdermal drug delivery

Dissolvable microneedles have been widely investigated as an alternative of hypodermic injection or other drug delivery methods. Various polymers have been used to fabricate microneedles. Type of polymers affects mechanical properties and dissolution rate of microneedles. In this study, five formulations of hyaluronic acid (HA)/ polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) composite microneedle patches (HA/PVP at 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/50, 0/100) were fabricated. The crosslinked HA microneedles were also fabricated. Mechanical properties of the obtained microneedles were determined by universal testing machine and durometer. The skin-penetration ability and dissolution rate of HA/PVP microneedles were also investigated using porcine skin. The results show that microneedle patches with higher PVP content possessed a higher compressive strength and dissolution rate and only the microneedle patches made of 50/50 HA/PVP, 25/75 HA/PVP, and PVP could penetrate the skin.