The aim of the present work was to develop a minimally invasive system for the delivery of macromolecular drugs to the deep skin tissues, so-called in-skin electroporation (IN-SKIN EP), using a microneedle (MN) electrode array. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran (FD-4: average molecular weight, 4.3 kDa) was used as the model macromolecular drug. MNs were arranged to puncture the skin barrier, the stratum corneum, and electrodes were used for EP so that a high electric field could be applied to skin tissues to promote viable skin delivery. In vitro skin permeation experiments showed that IN-SKIN EP had a much higher skin penetration-enhancing effect for FD-4 than MN alone or ON-SKIN EP (conventional EP treatment), and that higher permeation was achieved by applying a higher voltage and longer pulse width of EP. In addition, no marked skin irritation was observed by IN-SKIN EP, which was determined by the LDH leaching test. These results suggest that IN-SKIN EP can be more effectively utilized as a potential skin delivery system of macromolecular drugs than MN alone and conventional ON-SKIN EP.
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