Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a micro-needle patch for the painless, local delivery of antibiotics for treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA, skin infections.

The microneedle patch features a series of mini polymer needles loaded with vancomycin, an antibiotic used to clear up bacterial infections.

The microneedles are so small that they do not reach the pain receptors, making the treatment relatively painless. Source: Jill Ziesmer, Karolinska Institutet

Current methods for treating MRSA skin infections include intravenous injections of vancomycin. According to researchers, vancomycin could not previously be given locally due to its inability to penetrate the skin. Even when higher doses of vancomycin were administered, penetration was still inefficient and the higher doses threatened to result in the development of antibiotic-resistant strains. Likewise, the antibiotic is not administered orally due to poor gut absorption.

Conversely, the microneedle patch design allows for the controlled and painless delivery of vancomycin directly at the site of the skin infection.

During tests of the microneedle patch in the lab, researchers determined that the patch successfully delivered the antibiotic to the site of the skin infection, thereby reducing MRSA bacterial populations.

The team plans to test the patch on animal models in the near future and detail their work in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies.