Polypyrrole conjugated silk fibroin hydrogel for electrical stimulus-responsive microneedle

초록

Hydrogel microneedles can encapsulate high concentrations of drug molecules in their physically crosslinked construct and easily release drugs by hydration-based swelling. However, hydrogel's weak mechanical properties and molecule's burst release are limitations of hydrogel-based microneedle systems. Silk fibroin (SF) protein has robust mechanical properties that can penetrate the transdermal barriers, an important factor needed to be used as a microneedle. Polypyrrole (PPy), one of the conductive polymers, is conjugated onto the backbone of SF to enhance its electrical conductivity. The synthesized PPy-conjugated SF hydrogel was fabricated into a microneedle system, and it can control its drug release pattern by on-demand electrical stimulus. This study proposes electrical stimulus can be a method to achieve a hydrogel-based sustained drug delivery system with various applications in biopharmaceuticals.