MOF Nanoparticles in Dissolving Microneedles for Macrophage Polarization: In Vitro and Zebrafish Studies

Idaira Pacheco-Fernández – Postdoctoral Researcher, UMCG; WIllem Hoogaars – Postdoctoral Researcher, UMCG; Kiyan Musaie – PhD Candidate, BBT, UMCG; Edwin Bremer – Tenure Track Professor, UMCG; Peter van der Meer – Full Professor, UMCG; Mohammad-Ali Shahbazi – Assistant Professor, UMCG; Hélder Almeida Santos – Full Professor, UMCG

Introduction:

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have gained increasing relevance in biomedicine due to their high porosity, tunable composition, and large surface area, enabling applications in drug delivery, bioimaging, and biosensing (1,2). Their integration into polymeric dissolving microneedles represents a novel strategy for minimally invasive, targeted skin delivery (3, 4). This work focuses on developing MOF-loaded microneedle patches to enhance local immunomodulation and to evaluate how different MOF structures influence macrophage polarization in vitro and in a zebrafish model.