Previously, mussel adhesive protein (MAP)-based microneedle platform has been developed, which is the minimal invasive method, and it allows to attach to biological tissues by virtue of superior adhesive property. Using this platform, it was possible ...
Previously, mussel adhesive protein (MAP)-based microneedle platform has been developed, which is the minimal invasive method, and it allows to attach to biological tissues by virtue of superior adhesive property. Using this platform, it was possible to heal vascular/gastrointestinal wounds or to deliver drug transdermally to target tissues. However, the previously developed MAP-based microneedle was difficult to use for highly motile or tough tissues, such as the heart due to its low mechanical strength. To overcome this shortcoming, double-layered structure to polyethylene glycol (PEG)-MAP network was utilized in this research, with a higher mechanical strength than the previous microneedle. In addition, through lysine cross-linking, more adhesive microneedle was achieved. Through sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), it was possible to check the bond of the MAP-PEG macromolecule, which indicated high molecular weight. The MAP-PEG microneedle patch was formed evenly compared to the previous microneedle patch. Moreover, the mechanical strength was measured through the tissue insertion test, and it was confirmed that it was more than twice as high as the previous microneedle. Finally, it was found that cytotoxicity of MAP-PEG microneedle was very low through confirming 95% or more cells in the live state.