Microneedle-enabled therapeutics delivery and biosensing in clinical trials.

Microneedles (MNs) are micron-sized protrusions attached to a range of devices that are used in therapeutic delivery and diagnosis. Because MNs can be self-applied, are painless, and can carry multiple therapeutic agents, they have received extensive attention, and have been widely investigated, for local and systemic therapy. Many researchers are currently working to extend the use of MNs to clinical applications. In this review, we provide an update and analysis on MN-based clinical trials since their inception in 2007. The MNs in clinical trials are classified into five types based on their appearance and properties, including: hollow MNs, MN patches, radiofrequency MNs, MN rollers, and other MNs. The various aspects of MN trials are summarized, such as MN types, clinical trial time, and trial regions. This review aims to present an overview of MN development and provide insights for future research in this field. To our knowledge, this is the first review focused on MN clinical trials which showcases the latest applications of this advanced technology in medicine.

Development of a highly sensitive LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of rupatadine and its two active metabolites in human plasma: Application to a clinical pharmacokinetic study.

An easy LC-ESI-MS/MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of rupatadine (RT) and its two active metabolites, namely desloratadine (DT) and 3-hydroxydesloratadine (3-OH-DT), in human plasma. The chromatographic separation was carried out on a C18 column with gradient elution by using methanol and 10mM ammonium acetate containing 0.1% (v/v) formic acid. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.05, 0.035 and 0.035 ng/mL for RT, DT and 3-OH-DT, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision of analytes were within the range of 1.0-4.7% and 2.2-12.1%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day accuracy of analytes were within the range of -7.7% to 5.2% and -4.1% to 4.8%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of RT and its two metabolite DT and 3-OH-DT in healthy volunteers following single (10, 20, 40 mg) and multiple (10 mg) oral doses of rupatadine fumarate tablets.