Medicine in Novel Technology and Devices · Published 2026-07-29 · DOI 10.1016/j.medntd.2026.100451
Vrutiksinh Rathod, Krishna Sanka, Suman Rohilla, Mahaveer Singh
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is autoimmune, inflammatory, chronic illness attacking joints and synovial membrane. RA causes progressive loss of bone erosion and cartilage destruction, resulting in reduced life expectancy, and increased mortality. Available anti-inflammatory drugs and biological molecules commonly used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis suffer from drawbacks related to patient compliance, bioavailability and serious gastrointestinal side effects. To reduce the adverse effects associated with oral and parenteral drug delivery techniques, transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) are increasingly being recognized as a viable option for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although the transdermal administration of rheumatoid arthritis drugs is hindered by suboptimal drug delivery efficacy attributable to the dense cutaneous barrier. For painless drug administration using TDDS, microneedles (MNs) are a better choice for controlled or targeted delivery of high hydrophobic and high molecular weight drugs. They can reach the deeper dermal layer, accessing the skin's dermal microcirculation for systemic and deeper local delivery. The MNs retains good mechanical strength, optimal biocompatibility and have little influence on the bioactivity of various molecules. This review imparts a comprehensive coverage about, the progress of the microneedle application in the management of RA drugs and the clinical challenges to overcome.
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Rathod, V., Sanka, K., Rohilla, S., et al. (2026). Micro-needle-assisted hyaluronic acid based transdermal/local drug delivery systems for rheumatoid arthritis: Recent insights and future directions. Medicine in Novel Technology and Devices. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medntd.2026.100451