Haonan Li,1 Jie Cui,1 Tianyi Zhang,2 Fengli Lin,2 Guimin Zhang,1,3 Zhong Feng1– 3 

1College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, 250355, People’s Republic of China; 2Graduate School, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 301617, People’s Republic of China; 3Lunan Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Linyi, Shandong, 276000, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Zhong Feng; Guimin Zhang, College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, 250355, People’s Republic of China, Email fengzhong22@163.com; lunanzhangguimin@163.com

Abstract: As a type of transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS), Microneedles (MNs) have garnered significant attention from researchers due to their ability to penetrate the stratum corneum (SC) of the skin, enhance drug permeability and bioavailability, avoid first-pass metabolism, and cause minimal damage to the skin. This makes them particularly suitable for localized transdermal drug delivery. Dissolvable microneedles (DMNs) can encapsulate sensitive particles, provide high drug-loading capacity, and possess biodegradability and biocompatibility, attracting extensive research interest. Chitosan (CS) has been selected as the matrix for manufacturing DMNs due to its excellent properties, including not eliciting an immune response in vivo and having active functional groups such as hydroxyl and amino groups that allow for modifications to impart appropriate mechanical strength and functionality to DMNs for specific applications. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the research status of various chitosan-based microneedles (CSMNs), explores the mechanisms of their dissolution in vivo, and discusses their applications in promoting wound healing, delivering macromolecular drugs, vaccine delivery, and anti-tumor therapies.

Keywords: transdermal drug delivery, microneedles, dissolvable microneedles, chitosan, chitosan-based microneedles