{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T05:55:22Z","timestamp":1792130122554,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,30]],"date-time":"2025-05-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748563200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pharmacol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Clindamycin hydrochloride, a first-line antibiotic for acne treatment, faces challenges with poor skin penetration due to its hydrophilicity and the barrier posed by the stratum corneum. To address this limitation, we developed gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel-based biodegradable microneedles (GM-Clin-MN) for sustained intradermal drug delivery, thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>The microneedle patches loaded with 1\u00a0wt% clindamycin hydrochloride were fabricated using PDMS molds and characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and fluorescence microscopy. Drug loading and release were assessed using UV-Vis spectroscopy at 520\u00a0nm, while mechanical strength was evaluated with a universal testing machine. Skin penetration was tested on <jats:italic>ex vivo<\/jats:italic> rat abdominal skin. Biosafety was determined through human skin fibroblast (HSF) cytotoxicity and hen\u2019s egg test-chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM) irritation tests. Antibacterial efficacy against Cutibacterium acnes (<jats:italic>C. acnes<\/jats:italic>) was measured via colony counting. <jats:italic>In vivo<\/jats:italic> acne treatment of the microneedles was evaluated in a rat acne model. Gross morphological changes, histological sections, and immunohistochemical staining were used to evaluate the efficacy and potential mechanisms of acne treatment.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Clindamycin hydrochloride-loaded GelMA microneedles (GM-Clin-MN) achieved a drug loading of 0.49 \u00b1 0.025\u00a0\u03bcg\/needle, exhibiting rapid release on Day 1 (54.8% \u00b1 2.1%) and sustained release by Day 10 (72.1% \u00b1 1.5%). The microneedles penetrated the skin to a depth of 658 \u00b1 66\u00a0\u03bcm, swelled by 185.4% \u00b1 12.1%, and completely dissolved within 10\u00a0min. GM-Clin-MN displayed no cytotoxicity or skin irritation and effectively inhibited the growth of <jats:italic>C. acnes<\/jats:italic> (bacterial inhibition rate of 100%). <jats:italic>In vivo<\/jats:italic> studies revealed that acne-related inflammation was effectively suppressed with potential anti-scarring properties, characterized by reduced pro-inflammatory IL-1\u03b2 levels, increased anti-inflammatory IL-10 expression, and diminished MMP-2 activity \u2014 a key enzyme in collagen overproduction during scarring.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>GM-Clin-MN enables sustained, minimally invasive clindamycin delivery through the stratum corneum, offering a dual-action therapeutic strategy that combines potent antibacterial activity with anti-inflammatory modulation for acne management.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2025.1575635","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,30]],"date-time":"2025-05-30T05:43:48Z","timestamp":1748583828000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Biodegradable sustained-release microneedle patch loaded with clindamycin hydrochloride: a breakthrough in acne management"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Haomei","family":"Fan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ruohan","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yiling","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Xing","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chengdong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xuwei","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chao","family":"Pu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liling","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xingping","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juhua","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dongqin","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1011","DOI":"10.1016\/j.xphs.2022.11.012","article-title":"Enhanced transdermal delivery of acyclovir via hydrogel microneedle arrays","volume":"112","author":"Al-Badry","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. 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