Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42875716›Full record

ArticleDrug delivery and translational research2026

Controlled solvent removal dynamics during fabrication of microneedle patches for the sustained release of etonogestrel.

Jonathan Yuxuan Chen, Richard N Terry, Jie Tang, Tao Zheng, Steven P Schwendeman, Mark R Prausnitz

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Drug delivery and translational research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

6 authors.

Jonathan Yuxuan ChenWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
Richard N TerrySchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
Jie TangDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
Tao ZhengDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
Steven P SchwendemanDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
Mark R PrausnitzWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA. prausnitz@gatech.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Biodegradable polymer-based microneedle (MN) patches enable self-administered, long-acting drug delivery. Controlled drug release from MNs requires controlled material distribution and minimal porosity in the MNs. MN detachment in the skin requires MNs without film formation beyond the MN base. To achieve these goals, we studied solvent removal dynamics during MN patch fabrication by a solvent-casting method to better control distribution of polymer and drug in the MN patch mold. More specifically, we designed casting solvents to control (i) solvent evaporation rate, (ii) solvent absorption rate into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molds, and (iii) solubility of biodegradable polymer (poly (lactic acid)) and drug (etonogestrel, for long-acting contraception) in the solvent. We found that polymer film formation was prevented by using solvents with minimal mold absorption and moderate evaporation rates. We further demonstrated that solvent-nonsolvent mixtures titrated to the solubility limit of the polymer and beyond the solubility limit of the drug (forming a suspension of fine precipitate) also produced MNs without films. This occurred even when using solvents that absorbed into the molds. To better achieve sustained drug release, we showed that centrifuge-based casting and heat annealing reduced surface and bulk MN porosity. The resulting MNs achieved efficient detachment in porcine skin and sustained release of etonogestrel for two months in-vitro. This study establishes a framework to control solvent removal dynamics during MN patch fabrication to optimize biodegradable polymer MNs for long-acting delivery of etonogestrel and other drugs.

Indexed as

Biodegradable polymeric controlled releaseLong-acting contraceptiveMicrofabrication process development.Microneedle patchSolvent-cast formulationTransdermal drug delivery

Identifiers

PMID42875716

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.