Painless skin electroporation as a novel way for insulin delivery

Background: Rigorous research efforts have been undertaken worldwide to develop a needle-free insulin delivery for many decades with limited success. This translational study aims to deliver insulin through skin with painless electroporation. Methods: A recently designed microelectrode array was used to deliver insulin in mice with diabetes under electroporation conditions that are painless and harmless on human skin. Results: Under such condition, a therapeutic amount of insulin was delivered successfully through mouse skin. Electroporation alone increased insulin transport around 100-fold compared with passive diffusion. Increased skin temperature to 40°C for 20 min augmented insulin transport to 237-fold more than the control value. Repeated electroporation showed no harm on human skin. Conclusion: The results indicate the potential of painless delivery of insulin through human skin in future clinical practice.