Ceftriaxone-Loaded Polymeric Microneedles, Dressings, and Microfibers for Wound Treatment

• Published in: Polymers Vol. 15; no. 12; p. 2610
• Main Authors: Serrano-Castañeda, Pablo, Ochoa Loyo, Miguel Alejandro, Tinoco Hernández, Cristian Ezequiel, Anaya-Ortega, Brian Miguel, Guadarrama-Escobar, Omar Rodrigo, Anguiano-Almazán, Ericka, Rodríguez-Pérez, Betsabé, Peña-Juárez, Ma Concepción, Vázquez-Durán, Alma, Méndez-Albores, Abraham, Rodríguez-Cruz, Isabel Marlen, Morales-Florido, Miriam Isabel, Escobar-Chávez, José Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-06-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Bacterial infections; Care and treatment; Ceftriaxone; Ceftriaxone sodium; Diabetes; Diabetic foot; Diffusion cells; dressings; Foot diseases; Health aspects; In vivo methods and tests; Ingredients; Kollicoat® Protect; Maleic acid; Microfibers; microneedles; Needles; Tear strength; Time lag; Vinyl ethers; Water loss; Wound healing; wound treatment; Wounds and injuries; Mexico; United States > US; ceftriaxone; dressings; wound treatment; Kollicoat® MAE 100P; Kollicoat® Protect; microneedles; microfibers
• ISSN: 2073-4360; 2073-4360
• DOI: 10.3390/polym15122610

The objective of this study was to create polymeric dressings, microfibers, and microneedles (MN) loaded with ceftriaxone, using PMVA (Poly (Methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid), Kollicoat
100P, and Kollicoat
Protect as polymers to treat diabetic wounds and accelerate their recovery. These formulations were optimized through a series of experiments and were subsequently subjected to physicochemical tests. The results of the characterization of the dressings, microfibers, and microneedles (PMVA and 100P) were, respectively, a bioadhesion of 281.34, 720, 720, 2487, and 510.5 gf; a post-humectation bioadhesion of 186.34, 831.5, 2380, and 630.5 gf, tear strength of 2200, 1233, 1562, and 385 gf, erythema of 358, 8.4, 227, and 188; transepidermal water loss (TEWL) of 2.6, 4.7, 1.9, and 5.2 g/h·m
; hydration of 76.1, 89.9, 73.5, and 83.5%; pH of 4.85, 5.40, 5.85, and 4.85; and drug release (Peppas kinetics release) of n: 0.53, n: 0.62, n: 0.62, and n: 0.66). In vitro studies were performed on Franz-type diffusion cells and indicated flux of 57.1, 145.4, 718.7, and 2.7 µg/cm
; permeation coefficient (Kp) of 13.2, 19.56, 42, and 0.00015 cm
/h; and time lag (t
) of 6.29, 17.61, 27. 49, and 22.3 h, respectively, in wounded skin. There was no passage of ceftriaxone from dressings and microfibers to healthy skin, but that was not the case for PMVA/100P and Kollicoat
100P microneedles, which exhibited flux of 194 and 0.4 µg/cm
, Kp of 11.3 and 0.00002 cm
/h, and t
of 5.2 and 9.7 h, respectively. The healing time of the formulations in vivo (tests carried out using diabetic Wistar rats) was under 14 days. In summary, polymeric dressings, microfibers, and microneedles loaded with ceftriaxone were developed. These formulations have the potential to address the challenges associated with chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot, improving the outcomes.