Curcumin‐Adapted Nano‐Composites within Dissolvable Microneedles for Precision‐Tuned Piezo‐Sono‐Thermal Antibiotic‐Free Acne Therapy

ABSTRACT The rational design of bioactive molecules to precisely engineer the energy‐conversion interfaces represents an unexplored frontier in advanced therapeutics. Herein, we report a curcumin (Cur)‐adapted nano‐composites (BiO 2‐X /Cur), integrated into a dissolvable microneedles (MNs) patch, for synergistic piezo‐sono‐thermal therapy against drug‐resistant skin infections. The natural compound Cur is engineered not merely as an anti‐inflammatory agent but as a critical molecular adapter that precisely tunes the interfacial charge dynamics and energy landscape at the composites interface, which extends carrier lifetime to 0.63 ns and significantly enhances oxygen adsorption capacity ( E ads = ‐1.821 eV). Under ultrasound irradiation, the patch demonstrates superior piezo‐sonocatalytic activity (≈0.6 V piezoelectric output and d 33 value of −2.9 × 10 −12 C/N) to release reactive oxygen species and simultaneously delivers a substantial sono‐thermal effect (ΔT > 20 °C). The dissolvable MNs platform ensures precise and painless intradermal delivery of BiO 2‐X /Cur, enabling in vitro and in vivo near‐complete eradication (>99.97%) of Propionibacterium acnes and methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus , downregulating pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐6, TNF‐α, HIF‐1α) while upregulating reparative markers (IL‐10, Nrf2). This work establishes an emerging paradigm of using natural molecules as precision adapters for engineering high‐performance composites, offering an intelligent and versatile platform for treating complex infectious diseases.

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Small
Published
2026-09-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.75811
Primary Topic
Advancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery
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article
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article

Curcumin‐Adapted Nano‐Composites within Dissolvable Microneedles for Precision‐Tuned Piezo‐Sono‐Thermal Antibiotic‐Free Acne Therapy

Xiangmei Liu, Talante Juma, Congyang Mao, Cuihong Chen et al.
Small
Advancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery
article

Curcumin‐Adapted Nano‐Composites within Dissolvable Microneedles for Precision‐Tuned Piezo‐Sono‐Thermal Antibiotic‐Free Acne Therapy

Xiangmei Liu, Talante Juma, Congyang Mao, Cuihong Chen, Yufeng Zheng, Shuilin Wu, Yongping Cao, Yuan Li, Yan Li, Wanyu Jin, Caiqin Zhang, Chaofeng Wang
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The rational design of bioactive molecules to precisely engineer the energy‐conversion interfaces represents an unexplored frontier in advanced therapeutics. Herein, we report a curcumin (Cur)‐adapted nano‐composites (BiO 2‐X /Cur), integrated into a dissolvable microneedles (MNs) patch, for synergistic piezo‐sono‐thermal therapy against drug‐resistant skin infections. The natural compound Cur is engineered not merely as an anti‐inflammatory agent but as a critical molecular adapter that precisely tunes the interfacial charge dynamics and energy landscape at the composites interface, which extends carrier lifetime to 0.63 ns and significantly enhances oxygen adsorption capacity ( E ads = ‐1.821 eV). Under ultrasound irradiation, the patch demonstrates superior piezo‐sonocatalytic activity (≈0.6 V piezoelectric output and d 33 value of −2.9 × 10 −12 C/N) to release reactive oxygen species and simultaneously delivers a substantial sono‐thermal effect (ΔT > 20 °C). The dissolvable MNs platform ensures precise and painless intradermal delivery of BiO 2‐X /Cur, enabling in vitro and in vivo near‐complete eradication (>99.97%) of Propionibacterium acnes and methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus , downregulating pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐6, TNF‐α, HIF‐1α) while upregulating reparative markers (IL‐10, Nrf2). This work establishes an emerging paradigm of using natural molecules as precision adapters for engineering high‐performance composites, offering an intelligent and versatile platform for treating complex infectious diseases.

Small
Hebei University of Technology (CN), Peking University (CN), Peking University First Hospital (CN), Oriental Yuhong (China) (CN), Ministry of Education (MV), Hubei University (CN)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Advancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery
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