Transdermal drug delivery via a hollow microneedle considering the skin's mechanical properties: Analytical and numerical study

Hollow microneedles have a significant impact on transdermal drug delivery by overcoming the stratum corneum layer of the skin and delivering drugs directly to living skin tissues. In this paper, using a mathematical model, the diffusion of nanocarriers, free drugs, and bound drugs in the microneedle channel, different skin's layers, and bloodstream are described. The mechanical properties of the skin, which affect drug delivery due to the elasticity and elastin present in the dermis of the skin, are considered. The qualitative behavior of the model is studied using energy estimation. The well-posedness of the fully coupled system is examined. Numerical simulation is used to study the model's numerical behavior and sensitivity analysis.