Electrochemically synchronized, self-indicating iontophoretic patch with fully eco-degradable and self-powered system
Iontophoretic transdermal patches enable controllable and noninvasive drug delivery but face a persistent trade-off among user-adaptive interaction, architectural simplicity, and sustainability. Simpler systems favor uniform operation, whereas feedback-enabled designs require additional electronics, increasing complexity, bulk, and environmental burden. Here, we present a self-powered, fully eco-degradable iontophoretic patch integrated with an electrochromic module, which electrochemically unifies drug delivery and user-facing indication within a single synchronized loop. Galvanic iontophoresis electrodes simultaneously drive iontophoretic transport with ionic current and actuate an on-patch electrochromic gauge with electrical current, converting cumulative charge-correlated dose into an electrochromic reaction propagation-based indication. This material–architecture co-design, based on thin, soft, and eco-degradable materials, enables compact and flexible patch-level implementation with system-level eco-degradability after use. Ex vivo porcine skin studies show a linear correlation between electrochromic propagation distance and delivered dose, and a psoriasis mouse model confirms therapeutic delivery with skin-compatible operation.
Authors
- Joo-Hyeon Park
- Se-Hun Kang
- Sang-Wook Kang
- Geonjin Shin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9453-8971)
- S. W. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1028-3468)
- A‐Young Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6124-0807)
- Hyojin Lee
- Sung-Geun Choi
- Yu-Lim Lee
- Sung-Woo Kim
Institutions
- Seoul National University (KR)
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
- Korea University of Science and Technology (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Flexible Electronics
- Published
- 2026-03-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-026-00562-4
- Primary Topic
- Advancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Research Foundation
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea