Enzyme composite nanofibers as novel transdermal delivery coating

The outermost layer of skin represents an effective, but fragile barrier to the hostile microbial world. Transdermal, and transcutaneous delivery have been constrained by the well accepted paradigm of size limitation for skin penetration. This study utilized the electrospinning method to create nanofiber membranes of horseraddish peroxidase (HRP) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The coating was deposited onto 600 mum silicon needles. The highly hydrophilic coating hydrated, and microneedles physically disrupted the barrier of stratum conreum of the full thickness human skin tissue model. The large protein was delivered across the tissue and retained enzymatic activity through the process of electrospinning. The device delivered approximately 50% of the total load within the first 24 hours. The extraction of enzyme from tissue presented a close comparison between arrays located within a short distance on the collector. The experiment confirmed the relation of surface area and amount of coating to be approximately 0.2% of total coating per each 2x2 array.