Pain management has become a prominent global health concern, affecting not only over the aspects of daily existence but also upon the holistic physical well-being. Conventional pain management methods have non-negligible limitations, such as the discomfort caused by needle injections and the low permeability of transdermal drug patches due to the skin barriers. Microneedle-based drug delivery is an emerging technique that utilizes microscopic needles to directly administer medication into the epidermis or dermis, offering the advantages of enhanced efficiency, rapid action, and minimally invasive delivery. Regarding to the analgesic therapy, microneedles are at the forefront, accelerating pain relief by localized delivery of analgesic substances directly to the site of discomfort. The targeted administration effectively reduces the broader dispersion of pharmacological agents within the circulatory system, thereby minimizing the occurrence of systemic adverse effects. This review focuses on the utilization of microneedle technology for both immediate and extended pain relief, its performance in clinical practice, and the prospects and challenges of microneedles in pain management therapy.

Cancer poses a significant threat to human health because of its high morbidity and mortality. While traditional cancer therapies have demonstrated efficacy, they have limitations, such as systemic toxicity and acquired resistance. In recent years, targeting mitochondrial function has emerged as a promising approach to tumor therapy. In this review, we discuss the various methods used to specifically target mitochondria for tumor treatment and provide an overview of delivery systems designed for mitochondrial targeting in cancer therapy. By addressing the drawbacks of current treatment modalities and exploring the potential of mitochondrial targeting, this review contributes to the advancement of tumor therapy. The comprehensive analysis of the existing literature provides valuable insights and serves as a reference for researchers investigating targeted mitochondrial therapies for cancer. With a focus on novel delivery strategies, this work aims to bridge the gap between scientific exploration and clinical application, which will enhance our ability to effectively combat this pervasive health challenge.

Modulating the immune microenvironment to establish sustained positive feedback within immune pathways represents a promising avenue for the treatment of autoimmunity. However, the precise and efficient delivery of therapeutic systems to the subcutaneous basal layer to modulate immune disorders is a major challenge in the treatment of autoimmune psoriasis. In this project, we introduce a dual-functional microneedle (DF-MN) designed to combine MNs with multiple release kinetics and immunotherapy, the programmed treatment is achieved through segmented design of the MN structure, realizing the unification of rapid and long-lasting treatment of autoimmune psoriasis. In vivo imaging results showed that GelMA@M-CSF showed fluorescent signals after 5 days of delivery to subcutaneous tissues, whereas HA@IL-13 showed minimal fluorescent signals after 2 days. The multistage release behavior of MNs and the diffusion mechanism of drugs were explained at the molecular level, in combination with coarse-grained molecular dynamics. Additionally, DF-MN can successfully induce macrophage reprogramming in vitro and ameliorate overall symptoms in a psoriasis mice model, suggesting that it has the potential to be an effective strategy for the treatment of psoriasis and portends to be a transformative platform for the treatment of other autoimmune diseases.