ReviewSmall (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)2026
Driving Drugs Deeper: Force-Driven Microneedle Systems for Active Therapy and Their Road Towards Clinical Implementation.
Review in Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Transdermal delivery of macromolecules and biologics is constrained by the barrier function of skin. First-generation microneedle arrays address this issue by penetrating the stratum corneum; however, their passive, diffusion-based release limits delivery depth, kinetics, and adaptability. In this review, we discuss force-driven microneedles (F-MNs) as a shift from passive permeation to active propulsion. F-MNs integrate mechanisms that generate localized physical driving forces to rapidly and controllably drive therapeutic payloads into tissue, achieving millimeter-scale penetration within seconds to minutes. We categorize four principal modalities based on their force-generation mechanism: gas-driven microneedles, cavitation-driven microneedles, magnetically actuated microneedles, and iontophoresis-enhanced microneedles. For each class, underlying mechanisms, material choices, safety considerations, and translational challenges are presented. We further discuss how artificial intelligence can guide F-MNs' design, manufacturing and closed-loop theranostic control. We also highlight the unique fabrication requirements of F-MNs, including multi-material integration, spatial compartmentalization of force-generating components, stimulus-responsive architectures, and device-level quality control. By framing F-MNs around their force-generation mechanisms and translational barriers, this review outlines design rules and clinical application spaces for deep, rapid, and controllable microneedle-mediated therapy across transdermal, mucosal, gastrointestinal, wound, and tumor-related delivery settings.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.