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DELIVERY OF MINOXIDIL AND VALPROIC ACID FOR THE TREATMENT OF ANDROGENETIC ALOPECIA UNDER ELECTRICAL STIMULATION

Peixin Li^a,b, Zhenyu Wu^a,b, Nan Chen^a,b, Khurshidabonu I. Burkhonova^c, Khay-dar E. Yunusov^c, Yanfang Sun^d, Guohua Jiang^a,b,e

^a School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China
^b International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Intelligent Biomaterials and Functional Fibers, Hangzhou, 310018, China
^c Institute of Polymer Chemistry and Physics, Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Tashkent, 100128, Uzbekistan
^d College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
^e Zhejiang-Mauritius Joint Research Center for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, P. R. China

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Abstract. Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a worldwide and cross-gender disease that is usually treated by continuous administration of minoxidil (MXD). However, MXD can only slow hair loss and may cause hirsutism due to its low absorption effect. In this work, an MXD-loaded microneedles (MNs) system with the assistance of valproic acid (VPA) was developed to treat AGA under electrical stimulation (ES). The matrix of MXD-loaded MNs consisted of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), hyaluronic acid (HA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The microneedles could create microchannels after their insertion into the skin, and the transdermal efficiency of the loaded MXD could be enhanced under ES. In vivo results in C57BL/6J rats showed that the as-fabricated MXD-loaded MNs promoted hair growth via transdermal delivery of minoxidil and valproic acid under ES by upregulating Wnt/beta-catenin in VPA, promoting the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and activating hair follicle stem cells.

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Key words. Minoxidil, valproic acid, androgenetic alopecia, electrical stimulation, hair regeneration


DOI: http://uzpolymerjournal.com/articles/article.php?id=250102

*Corresponding author: Guohua Jiang, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China.

Citation: Peixin Li, Zhenyu Wu, Nan Chen, Khurshidabonu I. Burkhonova, Khay-dar E. Yunusov, Yanfang Sun, Guohua Jiang, DELIVERY OF MINOXIDIL AND VALPROIC ACID FOR THE TREATMENT OF ANDROGENETIC ALOPECIA UNDER ELECTRICAL STIMULATION. Uzbekistan Journal of Polymers, Vol. 4(1) 2025: pp.17-30. DOI: http://uzpolymerjournal.com/articles/article.php?id=250102

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