{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,26]],"date-time":"2026-04-26T05:19:31Z","timestamp":1777180771645,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]],"date-time":"2022-03-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1648598400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDP\/QUI\/50006\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/QUI\/50006\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030834"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030834"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CEECIND\/01620\/2017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CEECIND\/01620\/2017"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In the last years, microneedles (MNs) have been considered a valuable, painless, and minimally invasive approach for controlled transdermal drug delivery (TDD). Rivastigmine (RV), a drug administered to patients suffering from dementia, is currently delivered by oral or transdermal routes; however, both present limitations, mainly gastrointestinal adverse symptoms or local skin irritation and drug losses, respectively, for each route. Given this, the objective of the present work was to develop and evaluate the potential of polymeric MNs for RV transdermal delivery in a controlled manner. Polymeric MNs with two needle heights and different compositions were developed with calcein as a fluorescent model molecule. Morphology and mechanical characterisation were accessed. Skin permeation experiments showed the ability of the devices to deliver calcein and confirmed that the arrays were able to efficiently pierce the skin. To obtain a new TDD anti-dementia therapeutic solution, RV was loaded in 800 \u00b5m polymeric MNs of alginate and alginate\/k-carrageenan MNs. In the presence of RV, the MN\u2019s morphology was maintained; however, the presence of RV influenced the compression force. Skin permeation studies revealed that RV-loaded MNs allowed a more efficient controlled release of the drug than the commercial patch. In vivo, skin irritation tests in rabbits revealed that the developed MNs were innocuous upon removal, in contrast with the evidence found for Exelon\u00ae, the commercial patch, which caused slight mechanical damage to the skin. The herein-produced MNs demonstrated a more controlled release of the drug, being the more suitable option for the transdermal delivery of RV.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics14040752","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]],"date-time":"2022-03-30T21:28:39Z","timestamp":1648675719000},"page":"752","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Polymeric Microneedles for Transdermal Delivery of Rivastigmine: Design and Application in Skin Mimetic Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"T\u00e2nia M. T.","family":"Guimar\u00e3es","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3175-3844","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"T\u00e2nia","family":"Moniz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Cl\u00e1udia","family":"Nunes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8548-5649","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maya Margaritova","family":"Zaharieva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Microbiology, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 26 Acad. G. Bonchev Str., 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1740-5296","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mila","family":"Kaleva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Microbiology, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 26 Acad. G. Bonchev Str., 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]},{"given":"Krassimira","family":"Yoncheva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, Dunav Str. 2, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3221-2545","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hristo","family":"Najdenski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Microbiology, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 26 Acad. G. Bonchev Str., 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8777-5877","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sofia A.","family":"Costa Lima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0736-2835","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Salette","family":"Reis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV, REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118","DOI":"10.1177\/1715163517690745","article-title":"Dementia: What pharmacists need to know","volume":"150","author":"Duong","year":"2017","journal-title":"Can. Pharm. 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