As an inflammatory
skin disease of pilosebaceous follicles, Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) can aggravate local inflammatory responses and forms
acne lesions. However, due to the skin barrier, various transdermal measures other than
antibiotic creams are necessary. Microneedle (MN) patches are emerging platforms for the transdermal delivery of various
therapeutics since it can effectively create transport pathways in the epidermis. Herein, we develop an active
pharmaceutical ingredient poly(
ionic liquid) (API PIL)-based MN patches containing
salicylic acid (SA). The PIL-based MNs are simply prepared through photo-crosslinking of an imidazolium-type
ionic liquid (IL) monomer in MN micro-molds, and following by
anion exchange with
salicylic acid anions (SA-). The fabricated SA-loaded PIL-MNs exhibited therapeutic efficiency in the topical treatment of P. acnes
infection in vitro and in vivo. These active
pharmaceutical ingredient PIL-based MNs can improve
acne treatment, demonstrating potential applications for
skin diseases. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Microneedle (MN) patches can be used as platforms for transdermal delivery of various
therapeutics to treat
bacterial infection. Here, a facile strategy was developed to synthesize active
pharmaceutical ingredient poly(
ionic liquid)-based microneedle patches by
anion-exchange with
salicylic acid anion (SA-). The fabricated SA-loaded PIL-MNs are active on not only anti-bacteria but also anti-
inflammation in P. acnes treated mice, and may have potential applications for skin
acne infection.