Composite microneedle-mediated co-delivery of magnesium hydride–magnolol for androgenetic alopecia
- 1aDepartment of Dermatology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.
- 2bSchool of Material Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Green Preparation and Functionalization for Inorganic Materials, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, 710021, China.
Abstract
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) impairs quality of life, yet current pharmacotherapies are hampered by limited efficacy and adverse effects. Microneedle-assisted transdermal co-delivery of bioactive natural products and gaseous agents offers a promising alternative. Herein, we report composite polymer microneedles (MNs) for controlled co-delivery of magnesium hydride (MgH2, which generates cytoprotective H2 and Mg2+in vivo) and magnolol (Mag, a polyphenol with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities). Drug-loaded particles were fabricated via mechanical ball milling and ethanol solvent methods, characterized by XRD, FTIR and SEM, and then incorporated into dissolving PVA:PVP MNs by micromolding with two-step centrifugation. Ball milling yielded superior phase purity and a denser microstructure compared with ethanol, evidenced by distinct XRD peaks and intact FTIR signatures for both Mag and MgH2. Optimized MNs exhibited markedly enhanced mechanical strength after drug loading (14.524 N vs. 10.729 N). In vitro release best followed first-order kinetics (R2 = 0.99879), reaching 96% at 40 °C or under UV irradiation versus 80.7% at ambient conditions. This MgH2–Mag MN system combines robust mechanical resilience with thermoresponsive and photoresponsive release, providing a tunable transdermal platform for AGA intervention.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026composite,
title = {{Composite microneedle-mediated co-delivery of magnesium hydride–magnolol for androgenetic alopecia}},
author = {Wenting Wang and Xiaoxia Wang and Xiaojiang Hou and Tao Liu and Da Zhai and Tianyu Cao and Ling Liu},
journal = {RSC advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra06529e},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13660028},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Composite microneedle-mediated co-delivery of magnesium hydride–magnolol for androgenetic alopecia
AU - Wenting Wang
AU - Xiaoxia Wang
AU - Xiaojiang Hou
AU - Tao Liu
AU - Da Zhai
AU - Tianyu Cao
AU - Ling Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - RSC advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra06529e
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13660028
AB - Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) impairs quality of life, yet current pharmacotherapies are hampered by limited efficacy and adverse effects. Microneedle-assisted transdermal co-delivery of bioactive natural products and gaseous agents offers a promising alternative. Herein, we report composite polymer microneedles (MNs) for controlled co-delivery of magnesium hydride (MgH2, which generates cytoprotective H2 and Mg2+in vivo) and magnolol (Mag, a polyphenol with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities). Drug-loaded particles were fabricated via mechanical ball milling and ethanol solvent methods, characterized by XRD, FTIR and SEM, and then incorporated into dissolving PVA:PVP MNs by micromolding with two-step centrifugation. Ball milling yielded superior phase purity and a denser microstructure compared with ethanol, evidenced by distinct XRD peaks and intact FTIR signatures for both Mag and MgH2. Optimized MNs exhibited markedly enhanced mechanical strength after drug loading (14.524 N vs. 10.729 N). In vitro release best followed first-order kinetics (R2 = 0.99879), reaching 96% at 40 °C or under UV irradiation versus 80.7% at ambient conditions. This MgH2–Mag MN system combines robust mechanical resilience with thermoresponsive and photoresponsive release, providing a tunable transdermal platform for AGA intervention.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -