The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 24 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.
Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment
Open accessAbstract
Acne is a multifactorial skin condition characterized by an infection in the pilosebaceous units in the skin. Patients with acne suffer from comedones, papules, pustules and nodules or cysts in severe cases. These clinical features might cause disfigurmentation, depression, anxiety and significantly impact the quality of life of patients. Systemic and continuous exposure of antibiotics put patients at risk of developing systemic toxicity, bacterial resistance and gut dysbiosis. Microneedles offer an innovative approach of providing targeted topical delivery of minocycline while insuring efficient permeation through skin layers. Methods: minocycline microneedles were formulated using casting method and characterized for insertion ability, mechanical strength, drug content, antibacterial activities, deposition and dissolution behavior using ex vivo full-thickness rat skin. Results: Insertion tests confirmed effective skin penetration and mechanical integrity with only 9.5% height reduction. Drug content was 673.06 ± 5.34 µg/array. Dissolution occurred within 2 min in skin, indicating user-friendly wear time. Ex vivo Franz diffusion studies showed 26% of the drug deposited into the skin, significantly higher (p = 0.0068) than the 18.3% that permeated through it. Antibacterial testing revealed strong activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and C. acnes, with MIC values < 0.146 µg/mL and MBC values ranging from 9.375–18.75 µg/mL. Conclusions: The result of this research demonstrate that minocycline microneedles effectively deliver minocycline into the skin highlighting their potential as a safer and more efficient alternative for acne therapy.
Overview
CoChat Summary
TL;DR
PLGA tipped microneedles loaded with minocycline were successfully fabricated and characterized for acne treatment. They showed mechanical integrity, rapid skin dissolution, higher skin deposition than permeation, and preserved antibacterial activity against acne-associated bacteria.
Key findings
- Insertion and mechanical tests confirmed effective skin penetration and no mechanical failure; Parafilm® M first layer was penetrated at 100%, the second layer was reached (252 µm insertion depth), and height reduction after compression was 9.5 ± 5.6%.
- Drug content was 673.06 ± 5.34 µg/array, and tips dissolved completely in full-thickness rat skin by 120 s (2 min), indicating a short wear time.
- After 24 h in ex vivo Franz diffusion studies, 26% of loaded minocycline was deposited in skin versus 18.31% permeated through skin (174.64 ± 12.89 µg vs 123.24 ± 11.62 µg; p = 0.0068).
- Antibacterial activity was retained: MIC values were <0.146 µg/mL against all tested strains, MBC values were 9.375 µg/mL for S. aureus and 18.75 µg/mL for S. epidermidis and C. acnes, and the largest inhibition zone was against C. acnes at 3.1 cm.
Methods
- Fabrication used a casting method: tips solution of PLGA (35 mg/mL) and minocycline (25 mg/mL) in DMSO was added to molds, centrifuged at 4500 rpm for 15 min, dried, re-cast, then a PVA:PVP 20/20% w/w baseplate was added and dried.
- Characterization included manual insertion into full-thickness rat skin, Parafilm® M insertion testing with an Agrosta® Texture Analyzer, mechanical compression testing, UV-spectrophotometric drug content at 347 nm, in vitro PBS dissolution, and ex vivo rat skin dissolution.
- Ex vivo skin deposition used Franz diffusion cells with full-thickness rat skin, PBS pH 7.4 at 37 ± 1 °C over 24 h; antibacterial testing used agar diffusion, MIC, and MBC against S. aureus ATCC 9144, S. epidermidis ATCC 51625, and C. acnes ATCC 11827; statistics used GraphPad Prism V10 with t-tests/ANOVA and p < 0.05.
Limitations
- Stated: the paper says further intensive in vivo studies are essential to evaluate safety and efficacy before clinical translation, and future studies will explore stability, expanded antimicrobial experiments, and in vivo safety/efficacy.
- Evident from the text: all skin insertion, dissolution, and deposition data are from ex vivo rat skin or in vitro setups, with no human or in vivo efficacy/safety data reported.
- Evident from the text: antibacterial testing used planktonic cultures and standard agar/MIC/MBC methods, not acne biofilm models or the pilosebaceous unit, and drug quantification relied on UV-spectrophotometry rather than a chromatographic method.
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Claims the paper makes
0 Valid · 1 Not valid · 17 Not checked · 50 Own results and interpretations
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Further, our MNs had 673.06 ± 5.34 µg of MNC per array which is considered a high drug loading value compared to other previously reported MNs for antibiotic delivery [43].”
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 5. Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“After 1 h of MNs application into Franz diffusion cell apparatus about 49.35 ± 4.02 µg of MNC was detected as shown in Figure 5.”
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 4. Results > 4.5. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Ex Vivo Skin Deposition Study
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Antibacterial testing revealed strong activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and C. acnes, with MIC values < 0.146 µg/mL and MBC values ranging from 9.375–18.75 µg/mL.”
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > Abstract
boosted- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“MNs significantly (p value = 0.0068) delivered MNC into skin more than into reservoir compartment demonstrating the ability of MNs to achieve targeted topical delivery of MNC.”
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 4. Results > 4.5. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Ex Vivo Skin Deposition Study
boostedstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The lowest bactericidal activity of MNC was recorded against S. aureus (9.375 µg/mL) while the MBC against S. epidermidis and C. acnes was 18.75 µg/mL as Shown in Table 3.”
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 4. Results > 4.6. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Antibacterial Potency
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
41 more claims
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- Probably not a substantial claim. 7
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 4. Results > 4.2. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Characterisation
“MNs had an average length of 0.38 ± 0.03 µm before compression test and 0.34 ± 0.02 µm after compression test.”
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 4. Results > 4.2. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Characterisation
“Penetrating the second layer of Parafilm® M indicates a total of 252 µm insertion depth”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 3. Methods > 3.5. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Ex Vivo Skin Deposition Study
“This experiment was performed to evaluate the ability of MNs to locally deliver vancomycin into full-thickness rat skin [37,38].”
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 3. Methods > 3.5. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Ex Vivo Skin Deposition Study
“UV-spectrophotometer was used to quantify MNC in the reservoir compartment of the Franz cells and in rat skin.”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 4. Results > 4.6. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Antibacterial Potency
“The lowest bactericidal activity of MNC was recorded against S. aureus (9.375 µg/mL) while the MBC against S. epidermidis and C. acnes was 18.75 µg/mL”
§ Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment > 3. Methods > 3.6. PLGA-Minocycline Tipped Microneedles Antibacterial Potency
“The MBC was defined as the lowest concentration that required to kill the bacteria under defined conditions [42,43].”
Citations
Cites
Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA) as Biodegradable Controlled Drug Delivery Carrier
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A proposed model membrane and test method for microneedle insertion studies
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Management of Acne Vulgaris: A Review
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Garner, S. E., Eady, A., Bennett, C., Newton, J. N., Thomas, K., & Popescu, C. M. (2012) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd002086.pub2 · Cited by 216
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Cordeiro, A. S., Tekko, I. A., Jomaa, M. H., Vora, L. K., McAlister, E., Volpe‐Zanutto, F., Nethery, M., Baine, P. T., Mitchell, N., McNeill, D. W., et al. (2020) · Pharmaceutical Research · doi:10.1007/s11095-020-02887-9 · Cited by 187
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Ak, 2019, A comprehensive review of acne vulgaris, J. Clin. Pharm., 1, 17
Cited by
Microneedle-Based Technologies for Long-Acting Transdermal Drug Delivery in Wearable Devices
Luo, J., Dai, Y., Cheng, X., Wang, Z., & Zhu, Z. (2025) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s26010239 · Cited by 10
Microneedle: classification, preparation and applications
Kong, J., Shi, M., Zhou, F., Shi, L., Cui, L., Wu, C., & Tai, Z. (2026) · International Journal of Pharmaceutics · doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2026.126826 · Cited by 2
Боднар, Л. А., Ковальова, Т. М., Yakovenko, V., Коshovyi, O., Georgiev, K. D., Slavov, I. Z., & Vyshnevskа, L. (2026) · Polymers · doi:10.3390/polym18101255 · Cited by 1
Stringhi, J. E. P., Port, B. D. C. B., & Caon, T. (2026) · Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology · doi:10.1016/j.jddst.2026.108050
Al-Shawabkeh, H. F., Aburayya, R., Basheer, H. A., Alkilani, A. Z., Alhusban, M. A., & Hamed, R. (2026) · ACS Omega · doi:10.1021/acsomega.5c08765
Metadata
- Authors
- Abu Ershaid, J. M., Abudoleh, S. M., Lafi, D. N., & Dahshan, N. A.
- Affiliations
- Department of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman 11622, Jordan
- Middle East University (JO)
- Isra University (JO)
- Venue
- Polymers
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2025-10-31
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 2912
- ISSN
- 2073-4360 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC12608770
- OpenAlex
- W4415813462
- Semantic Scholar
- 94b6018ac2b6b220f035b21f7ee93342a8e9365b
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 1.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Polymers (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Preprints.org (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Isra University (2023/2022/35-11)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Advancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Advanced Drug Delivery Systems
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatologic Treatments and Research
- Keywords
- minocycline, microneedles, PLGA, acne treatment, topical drug delivery, skin deposition, antibacterial activity, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Propionibacterium acnes, transdermal permeation, casting method, mechanical strength, dissolution behavior
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Formulation and Characterization of PLGA Minocycline Microneedles for Enhanced Skin Deposition and Antibacterial Activity in Acne Treatment. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.3390/polym17212912
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