Inflammation and impaired bone regeneration are major challenges in oral and maxillofacial surgery, necessitating the development of effective drug delivery systems. This study aimed to develop a hydrogel-based microneedle (MN) system for the controlled release of anti-inflammatory and osteogenic drugs. A hydrogel loaded with naproxen sodium (NAS) and dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DEX) using poloxamer 407 (NDgel) was prepared using a low-temperature method and optimized via the Box-Behnken design. The optimized hydrogel exhibited a gelation temperature of 30.87 ± 0.64℃, pH 7.92 ± 0.12, and viscosity 87.47 ± 5.66 cP. Physicochemical evaluations, including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), confirmed that NAS and DEX were incorporated in an amorphous form. The hydrogel was coated onto microneedles (NDgMN) via a dip-coating method and dried. In vitro drug release studies in artificial saliva showed NAS and DEX release rates of 21.7 ± 5.8% and 19.0 ± 1.8%, respectively, after 5 min. The NDgMN exhibited significantly enhanced permeability, with 48.5% and 48.7% permeability for NAS and DEX after 48 h, compared to 31.0% and 28.8% for the hydrogel alone. The IC50 values of the drug solution and drug-containing gel were 123 µg/mL and 203.2 µg/mL, respectively. NDgel demonstrated concentration-dependent inhibition of nitrogen oxide (NO) production at 1-1000 µg/mL, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assays revealed a 1.2-fold increase at concentrations above 50 µg/mL. These findings suggest that hydrogel-coated MNs have potential as a novel drug delivery system for reducing inflammation and promoting osteocyte differentiation due to their enhanced permeability and bioactivity.
Keywords: Anti-inflammation; Microneedle; Periodontitis; Poloxamer 407.
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