Transdermal vitamin D3 delivery system based on coating microneedles for vitamin D deficient patients

Abstract

Although Vitamin D3 (VD3), which is the main form of Vitamin D, can be produced in human skin under sunlight, Vitamin D deficiency has emerged as a major public health problem worldwide. Mainly, oral supplements or foods fortified with Vitamin D are distributed to help with the supplementation of this Vitamin D and it is recommended to take them every day in order to maintain an adequate serum level. However, the supply of oral methods is limited in Middle East countries, and oral absorption has low efficiency due to various changes of conditions along the route. Alternatively, a transdermal delivery system could provide a convenient means of supplementing Vitamin D. This method has several advantages, such as the avoidance of the first-pass effect of the liver and providing releases of the Vitamin D over long periods of time. In this study, we introduce a transdermal delivery system for the sustained release of Vitamin D. This method relies on the use of coated microneedles that easily pierce the skin layer and tallow the localization of drugs within the dermal region. According to the experimental results, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles successfully encapsulated VD3 with appropriate properties for transdermal delivery, such as the proper size distribution, compatibility with skin, and the effective release of the encapsulated compound. Finally, PVD3 layers coated onto solid microneedles were completely dissolved into a porcine skin model and revealed superior performance for VD3 release into plasma compared to an ointment-based transdermal method.