Microneedle patch loaded with ferritin-nanocaged doxorubicin for locally targeted drug delivery and efficient skin cancer treatment

Abstract

Ferritin has emerged as a promising nanocarrier for delivering therapeutic agents to tumours. However, the limited drug loading and the off-target impacts after systemic administration remain challenges for cancer treatment with ferritin-based agents. Herein, we develop a microneedle patch loaded with ferritin-nanocaged doxorubicin (DoxFe@Fn/MN) for skin cancer treatment. Briefly, doxorubicin (Dox) is encapsulated in ferritin (Fn) using an iron core-assisted strategy, which results in a 3.4-fold increase in Dox loading compared to the direct loading method. Then, a polyvinyl alcohol-based microneedle (MN) patch is used for the transdermal delivery of DoxFe@Fn, enabling targeted tumour accumulation of DoxFe@Fn and preventing off-target impacts. The released DoxFe@Fn can bind to CD71 highly expressed on skin cancer cells, facilitating its uptake. As a result, the DoxFe@Fn/MN therapy presents a robust antitumour effect in a melanoma tumour model, showing its potential as a promising therapeutic modality for skin cancer treatment.