Bacterial Skin Infection Can Be Treated By A Microneedle Patch

Microneedle patch that delivers antibiotics directly into the MRSA affected skin area is also proven effective against the MRSA bacteria.

Intravenous injection of antibiotics that are used as a treatment for MRSA skin infections can cause significant side effects and promote the development of resistant bacterial strains.

To overcome this, a microneedle patch that delivers antibiotics directly into the affected skin area has been developed by the researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden as published in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies.

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‘Intravenous injection of antibiotics that are used as a treatment for MRSA skin infections can cause significant side effects and promote the development of resistant bacterial strains. This is overcome by a microneedle patch that delivers antibiotics directly into the affected skin area and is also is shown to effectively reduce the MRSA bacteria.’

The microneedle patch is shown to effectively reduce the MRSA bacteria in the skin. MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) skin infections are potentially lethal, especially in patients with compromised immune systems.

Vancomycin is one of the main treatments and is given as an intravenous injection. The problem with systemic administration is its significant side effects. Thus, there is a clinical need for local delivery of vancomycin to the skin.

Microneedle patch in MRSA Skin Infection

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"We have addressed this by using microneedle patches that consist of miniaturised needles made from a polymer that is loaded with the drug. Through an innovative microneedle design we could efficiently control the drug amounts delivered into the skin," says Jill Ziesmer, a Ph.D. student at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet and first author of the study.

The patch is placed on the skin at the site of infection. The microneedles' ability to penetrate the skin has proven that the drug was effectively delivered into the skin, and most importantly, significantly reduced the MRSA bacterial population.

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"If this drug delivery device reaches the clinics, it has the capacity to transform the way skin infections from potentially lethal bacteria are treated with drastic improvements in the quality of life of patients. Microneedles for delivery of antibiotics have only been studied recently, however, the successful application of microneedles in other areas gives hope that antibiotic microneedles might open new frontiers in skin infection management," says Georgios Sotiriou, principal researcher at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet and last author of the study.

The performance of microneedles in animal models of MRSA skin infection will be evaluated by the study team for improved efficacy and further development of the product.

Source-Medindia