Dissolved bubble microneedle patches for co-delivery of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs to improve acne vulgaris therapy

Acne vulgaris, a prevalent inflammatory skin disorder, poses significant clinical challenges due to its multifactorial pathogenesis involving Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) proliferation and chronic inflammation. Conventional therapies, including topical applications, oral medication, and laser treatments, face limitations in drug penetration, patient compliance, and therapy efficacy. Currently, the combined use of hydrophilic drugs and hydrophobic drugs is a commonly recommended clinical approach. However, conventional formulations severely struggle to effectively deliver and release both therapeutic agents at the affected site. To address these issues, we developed the dissolved bubble microneedle patches (DBMNPs) for the co-delivery of hydrophilic (dipotassium glycyrrhizinate, DPG), hydrophobic (PIONIN) drugs, and alongside salicylic acid (SA) at the same time. The DBMNPs, which were fabricated basing on hyaluronic acid (HA), featured hollow bubble structures to encapsulate lipophilic agents, enabling spatially segregated and temporally controlled drug release. The patches exhibited good mechanical strength, excellent biocompatibility, and potent antimicrobial activity against P. acnes. In vivo studies confirmed their efficacy in treating acne vulgaris, offering a minimally invasive and clinically translatable approach to enhance therapeutic effect while minimizing systemic side effects. This study reports a microneedle platform that successfully addresses the key challenge of co-loading and co-delivering both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, and is expected to be applied in the treatment of other skin diseases.