A perspective on microneedle-based drug delivery and diagnostics in paediatrics

Abstract

Microneedles (MNs) have been extensively explored in the literature as a means to deliver drugs in the skin, surpassing the stratum corneum permeability barrier. MNs are potentially easy to produce and may allow the self-administration of drugs without causing pain or bleeding. More recently, MNs have been investigated to collect/assess the interstitial fluid in order to monitor or detect specific biomarkers. The integration of these two concepts in closed-loop devices holds the promise of automated and minimally invasive disease detection/monitoring and therapy. These assure low invasiveness and, importantly, open a window of opportunity for the application of population-specific and personalised therapies