Fabrication of a Microneedle Patch for Improving and Maintaining Skin Brightness
摘要
In recent years, the demand for cosmetics in beauty has been increasing. Bringing nutrients deep into the skin is a necessity for products related to skin care. One of the effective methods that can deliver chemical compounds directly into the skin is microneedles and one type of microneedles that is the most suitable is dissolving microneedles. The goal of this study is to create a dissolving microneedle patch to improve dark spots on the face by bringing nutrients into the skin. The cosmetic microneedle patch was designed to deliver therapeutical compounds, including Alpha Aburtin, Ascorbic Acid, and Glycerin into the epidermis layer of the skin. The microneedle patch was fabricated by the soft-molding method, and it was successfully made with two constituents, which were the degradable polymeric microneedle and N, O-carboxymethyl-Chitosan—Aldehyde Hyaluronic Acid base. The performance of the microneedle was verified by ex-vivo experiments. The mechanical property test revealed that the microneedles were strong enough to penetrate into the skin. The diffusion test was conducted to prove that the needle can dissolve in phosphate buffer saline solution. Antibacterial testing was performed to prove that the patch is in a bacteria-free environment and safe to use. In addition, several animal experiments have been performed to further clarify the needle’s ability to penetrate and deliver drugs into the skin. Through these tests, the microneedle patch showed a good result in the mechanical test, the fabrication meets the facilities in Vietnam, and it is expected to replace topical creams. To further improve the overall performance and realize the application of the cosmetic microneedle, some experiments should be conducted in the future, including evaluating the skin brightness performance of the microneedle.