Queen's University Belfast Tests a 3D-Printed Patch That Dissolves to Fight Skin Cancer

Needles are one of the small but real reasons people delay or avoid cancer treatment. A team at Queen's University Belfast is trying to remove that barrier with a 3D-printed patch that dissolves after delivering drugs directly into a skin tumor.

How the patch works

The device is a microneedle array, a small pad covered in tiny needles fine enough to pass through the outer layer of skin without drawing blood. Once in place, the needles release curcumin and 5-fluorouracil, two drugs used against skin cancer, and then dissolve away.

Unlike some microneedle designs that coat drugs onto pre-made needles, the Queen's team mixed both medicines directly into the printable resin. The result was a single-step print that improved skin penetration, raised the drug load, and produced a controlled two-stage release pattern. In theory, that release profile could be tuned to match an individual patient.

Patient-friendly design

Dimitrios A. Lamprou, Chair of Biofabrication and Advanced Manufacturing at Queen's, framed the problem plainly: "Skin cancer is a major public health concern, and current treatments often require repeated topical applications, invasive procedures, or can cause unwanted side effects. Many people also experience fear, discomfort, or inconvenience when treatments involve needles and injections."

A dissolving patch sidesteps several of those issues. There is no needle to remove, no sharps waste, and no repeated clinic visits just to reapply medication. For patients who live far from treatment centers or who simply dislike injections, that could make a real difference.

What comes next

The research is still early. The team has shown that the manufacturing approach works and that the drug release behaves as hoped. The next steps will involve larger studies to confirm safety and effectiveness in human patients, and probably work to make the patch stable enough for storage and shipping.

First author Rutuja N. Meshram, a PhD student in the School of Pharmacy, sees broader potential. "Our findings point to a future where medicines and vaccines can be delivered in ways that are less painful, easier to use, and more acceptable to patients than traditional injections."

3D printing is already changing how implants, prosthetics, and surgical guides are made. The Queen's patch is a reminder that the same technology may also change how medicine gets into the body, one tiny needle at a time.