Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39957277›Full record

ArticleMolecular pharmaceutics2025

Glassy Drug Microneedle Array Design: Drug Glass-Forming Ability and Stability.

Mohamed Elkhashab, Ziad Sartawi, Waleed Faisal, Abina Crean

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular pharmaceutics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Co-amorphization for solubility and dissolution rate improvement: the case of low-crystallization-tendency drugs.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2026
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Mohamed ElkhashabSSPC, the Research Ireland Centre for Pharmaceuticals, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0002-9760-2272
Ziad SartawiArrayPatch Ltd., Euro Business Park, Little Island, Cork T45 FX94, Ireland.
Waleed FaisalArrayPatch Ltd., Euro Business Park, Little Island, Cork T45 FX94, Ireland.
Abina CreanSSPC, the Research Ireland Centre for Pharmaceuticals, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0001-6171-0303

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Glassy microneedles, composed only of drug, provide an intradermal alternative to oral or parenteral drug delivery. Compared to microneedles composed of drug-polymer solid dispersions, they offer higher drug loading while possessing mechanical strength for skin penetration. However, their microneedle structure and associated mechanical strength are reliant on the component glass stability. This study investigates relationships between the glass stability of drug-only microneedles and drug glass-forming ability (GFA), determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The glass stability of microneedles fabricated from six drugs was evaluated at 2-8 °C under nitrogen, 25 °C/60% relative humidity (RH), and 40 °C/75% RH. Drug glass stability was determined by visual assessment of microneedle appearance, together with DSC and powder X-ray diffraction analysis of the drug melt cooled outside the microneedle molds. Glassy microneedle structure was retained for all drugs stored at 2-8 °C under nitrogen for 3 months. Drug GFA classes informed glass stability under dry (nitrogen) environments at temperatures below their glass transition temperature. Under controlled humidity conditions, all glass microneedles crystallized, except for itraconazole. Drug GFA did not inform microneedle glass stability when exposed to water vapor during storage due to water absorption and glass plasticization. Itraconazole's glass stability was attributed to the interaction of absorbed water with liquid crystalline phases present in the itraconazole glass. The results highlight how glassy microneedle stability is informed by storage below

Indexed as

Drug Delivery SystemsGlassNeedlesAdministration, CutaneousCalorimetry, Differential ScanningDrug StabilityHumiditySkinX-Ray Diffractionglass-forming abilityglass transition temperatureglassy microneedleshumidityhygroscopicitystability

Identifiers

PMID39957277
PMCPMC11881139

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.