TY - JOUR
T1 - Microneedles with an anisotropic porous microstructure facilitate the transdermal delivery of small molecules, lipid nanoparticles, and T cells
AU - Hu, Tianli
AU - Lui, Ka Sin
AU - Ko, Eira Beryle
AU - Zhao, Yayi
AU - Zhang, Qizheng
AU - Yang, Huaxin
AU - Zheng, Mengjia
AU - Chang, Hao
AU - Guo, Baolin
AU - Cheung, Allen Ka Loon
AU - Xu, Chenjie
N1 - C.X. appreciates the support from the General Research Fund (GRF) from the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (CityU11202222, CityU11100323, CityU 11101324), and the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (T2425004). This work was also supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) (18170032), Research Grants Council Theme-based Research Scheme (TBRS, T12-712/21-R), Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board research grant (2022), Interdisciplinary Research Matching Scheme (RC-IRCs-1718-03), Faculty Research grant (FRG2/17–18/066), Faculty Start-up fund (SCI-17-18-01), Tier2 Start- up grant (RC-SGT2/18-19/SCI/007), Incentive Award for External Competitive Research grants, and Research Council Start-up grant of Hong Kong Baptist University, awarded to A.K.L.C.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/4/2
Y1 - 2025/4/2
N2 - Porous microneedles (MNs) offer optimal performance for drug delivery and biofluid sampling. However, current porous MNs suffer from randomly interconnected pores, and existing fabrication methods lack control over pore diameter and orientation. This study employs a freeze-casting technique to precisely control these parameters in MNs, inspired by the anisotropic porous structure of wood xylem. This specialized microstructure enables rapid liquid absorption from the tips to the base within seconds, making it an effective tear-sampling tool to monitor tear biomarkers—a capability confirmed in rat models of dry-eye disease and diabetes. Additionally, these anisotropic porous MNs facilitate the active loading of various drugs, including γδ T cells, from the base to the tips without the need for specialized equipment. The delivery of γδ T cells via MNs has shown efficacy against tumors in both xenograft melanoma and pleural mesothelioma mouse models, presenting a novel approach to adoptive cell therapy.
AB - Porous microneedles (MNs) offer optimal performance for drug delivery and biofluid sampling. However, current porous MNs suffer from randomly interconnected pores, and existing fabrication methods lack control over pore diameter and orientation. This study employs a freeze-casting technique to precisely control these parameters in MNs, inspired by the anisotropic porous structure of wood xylem. This specialized microstructure enables rapid liquid absorption from the tips to the base within seconds, making it an effective tear-sampling tool to monitor tear biomarkers—a capability confirmed in rat models of dry-eye disease and diabetes. Additionally, these anisotropic porous MNs facilitate the active loading of various drugs, including γδ T cells, from the base to the tips without the need for specialized equipment. The delivery of γδ T cells via MNs has shown efficacy against tumors in both xenograft melanoma and pleural mesothelioma mouse models, presenting a novel approach to adoptive cell therapy.
KW - adoptive T cell therapy
KW - anisotropic porous structure
KW - biomimicry
KW - MAP 6: Development
KW - microneedles
KW - tear extraction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105001146892&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590238525000815?via%3Dihub
U2 - 10.1016/j.matt.2025.102038
DO - 10.1016/j.matt.2025.102038
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:105001146892
SN - 2590-2393
VL - 8
JO - Matter
JF - Matter
IS - 4
M1 - 102038
ER -
