Pharmacokinetics and Skin Permeation of Psychedelic Drugs Delivered by Hydrogel-Forming Microneedles

Introduction: Psychedelic drugs (PSD) greatly impacted mental health research in the 1960s but were later prohibited due to side effects from high doses [1]. Recently, interest in their therapeutic potential has resurged [2]. Transdermal drug delivery offers advantages over oral administration, including bypassing first-pass metabolism, protecting from gastrointestinal degradation, and enabling controlled, sustained release [3]. This study investigates hydrogel-forming microarray patches (HF-MAPs) for transdermal delivery of microdoses of the PSD mescaline (MES), N,N-dimethyltryptamine DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT.