New wearable microneedle patches mimic bee stings to provide painless, long-lasting drug delivery – credit, Professor Wonku Kang from Chung-Ang University
The animal kingdom has long been the source of inspiration for all manner for technologies, and now again in South Korea, where a new drug delivery method has been modeled after the bee sting.
Patients who suffer from chronic conditions often require continuous injections of drugs—often quite painful and inconvenient. To address this, researchers from South Korea have developed new wearable microneedles that behave the way a bee’s stinger does.
If you remember running to your mother after getting stung in the park, you may recall her pulling out the detached stinger, explaining that it keeps delivering venom even after separating from the bee’s thorax.
These electrospun web microneedles (EW-MNs) developed at Chung An University, deliver drugs continuously through the skin without causing discomfort. In animal models, the system enhanced drug absorption while ensuring comfort.
The micron-sized needle system isn’t a totally new technology, but existing products tend to lose their comfort over sustained use, limiting their adoption.
To fabricate the EW-MNs, the researchers used an electrospinning process (a technique that uses an electrical field to spin very fine polymer fibers) to create a web of nanoscale fibers on metal microneedles. This resulted in a fibrous layer around the microneedle tips which mimic the barbed structure of a bee’s stinger.
As a result, the microneedles anchor securely to the skin and ensure a steady attachment for continuous drug release. The EW-MNs were then attached to an adhesive tape and a backing layer to form a patch.
“Unlike traditional rigid microneedles, which can cause irritation during prolonged use, our EW-MNs are soft, breathable, and remain anchored to the skin just like a bee stinger,” explains Professor Wonku Kang at the university’s College of Pharmacy.
To test the efficacy of the patch, the team loaded the EW-MNs with rivastigmine (a drug commonly used to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease). In animal studies using guinea pigs, the microneedle patches significantly improved the absorption of rivastigmine—releasing over twice the drug and covering a five-fold larger area compared to conventional approaches. Importantly, all this was achieved while maintaining minimum discomfort, and even if any mild skin irritation occurred, it disappeared quickly on removing the patch.
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“With further development, these EW-MNs could revolutionize drug delivery, allowing patients to receive effective long-term treatments without the fear or discomfort of needles!” Professor Kang said excitedly.
The study was made available online in Advanced Healthcare Materials on July 31st.
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In the future, the team aims to extend the applications of EW-MNs beyond neurological diseases, offering medicated patches for a wide range of other chronic diseases. This approach particularly holds value for elderly patients, children, and cases where safety and patient-compliant treatments are urgently needed.
Overall, the study demonstrates a perfect example of how nature can drive innovations, bringing us one step closer towards safer, more comfortable, and patient-friendly drug delivery.
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