Oral Mucosal Microneedle Platforms for Transmucosal Delivery of Small Molecules, Antibody Fragments and mRNA

Jake Edmans – PDRA, University of Sheffield; Cerys Berry – PDRA, University of Sheffield; Paul Hatton – Faculty Director for Research and Innovation, University of Sheffield; Craig Murdoch – Professor in Oral Bioscience, University of Sheffield; Helen Colley – Professor of Tissue Engineering, University of Sheffield

Introduction: The oral mucosa provides a highly vascular route for tissue and systemic drug delivery, bypassing first-pass metabolism. However, efficient transmucosal transport of hydrophilic or macromolecular therapeutics remains challenging due to the mucosal permeability barrier [1]. This study explores the use of microneedle technology to overcome this barrier, enabling effective delivery of diverse payloads, including small molecules, antibody fragments and lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated mRNA.

Learning Objectives:

• To assess microneedle‑enhanced transmucosal delivery of small molecules.
• To evaluate microneedle delivery and expression of LNP‑encapsulated mRNA.
• To assess feasibility of a microneedle–mucoadhesive oral delivery platform.