January 2025 in “RSC Advances” This study reported that a new formulation of finasteride solid lipid nanoparticles, combined with LPC and NTC, enhanced hair growth in mice without visible skin reactions, suggesting it could effectively manage androgenetic alopecia.
January 2020 in “Brazilian Journal of Health and Pharmacy” This study developed nanostructured lipid carriers for finasteride that demonstrated high encapsulation efficiency and reduced cytotoxicity, suggesting potential as a topical treatment for androgenetic alopecia.
14 citations
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August 2021 in “Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences” This study found that cholesterol- and phospholipid-free multilamellar niosomes improved skin deposition and targeted deeper hair follicles better than hydrophobic PLGA nanoparticles for transdermal drug delivery.
117 citations
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August 2005 in “Ultramicroscopy” This study systematically characterized the nanomechanical properties of human hair, such as hardness and elastic modulus, across different ethnicities and treatment conditions using nanoindentation and scanning electron microscopy.
81 citations
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October 2023 in “Bioactive Materials” This review highlights the promising potential of 3D printing for creating microneedles with precise customization and improved performance compared to traditional micromolding, emphasizing applications in personalized medical devices and advancements in biomedical fields.
January 2026 in “Open MIND” This study identified candidate compounds from a natural-product library that may interact with the PIEZO1 and MLCK pathways, potentially countering a non-androgen cause of hair follicle miniaturization, all based on computer simulations; experimental validation is necessary.
61 citations
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May 2014 in “International journal of pharmaceutics” This research describes a process for producing caffeine nanocrystals, which may enhance skin penetration by accumulating in hair follicles and maintaining stability for two months, paving the way for in vivo testing.
9 citations
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June 2025 in “Frontiers in Pharmacology” This review highlights recent advancements in microneedle technology, noting its ability to enhance transdermal drug delivery, biosensing, cancer treatment, and skin disease repair, while emphasizing its potential for improving patient compliance and reducing side effects.
January 2014 in “Spectrum Research Repository (Concordia University)” This study found that folic acid-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin significantly reduced cell proliferation in HeLa cells, although they were not effective against doxorubicin-resistant HeLa cells.
This study found that nanostructured lipid carriers significantly improved the targeted delivery of latanoprost and minoxidil to pilosebaceous units in porcine skin, with latanoprost showing notably higher accumulation.
5 citations
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August 2024 in “International Journal of Cosmetic Science” This study found that particle affinity was stronger on healthy hair compared to damaged hair, with the deposition influenced predominantly by hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attraction, while larger particles had poorer deposition.
10 citations
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February 2021 in “International Journal of Nanomedicine” This study found that a chitosan-decorated finasteride nanosystem exhibited satisfactory drug release and retention in rat skin, suggesting it could enhance topical delivery for androgenic alopecia treatment.
27 citations
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September 1999 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study found that protease nexin-1 mRNA is expressed in human dermal papilla cells and is downregulated by dihydrotestosterone in balding scalp, suggesting a role in male-pattern baldness progression.
January 2016 in “Universitätsbibliothek der FU Berlin Hochschulschriftenstelle u. Dokumentenserver” This study found that novel biodegradable nanocarriers with highly hydrophobic cores significantly increased the solubility and sustained release of hydrophobic drugs and dyes, showing promise for drug delivery applications.
513 citations
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February 2022 in “Advanced Science” This study demonstrated that incorporating PDA@Ag nanoparticles into a cationic guar gum hydrogel significantly enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency, achieving superior antibacterial efficacy both in vitro and in vivo, advancing the potential of PDA as a photothermal antibacterial agent.
62 citations
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November 2016 in “Nanoscale” In this study, researchers developed thermoresponsive nanogels that effectively penetrate hair follicles and release a model drug when triggered by temperature, demonstrating greater penetration for medium to large nanogels (300–500 nm) compared to smaller ones.
5 citations
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August 2023 in “Preprints.org” This review outlines recent advancements in droplet-based microfluidics used with food-grade materials to create delivery systems, emphasizing the design and function of systems like emulsions and microcapsules while discussing challenges related to scaling these processes from lab to industry.
September 2024 in “Skin Research and Technology” This study used atomic force microscopy to identify significant morphological differences in hair from patients with lichen planopilaris compared to healthy controls, noting more scratches, uneven edges, and pitted scales in affected hair, which may aid future research on the condition.
1 citations
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July 2023 in “International Journal of Biological Macromolecules” In this study, researchers developed a composite paste system using minoxidil-loaded nanoparticles and valproic acid, enhanced by roller-microneedles, which significantly stimulated hair regeneration and perifollicular vascularization in an androgenetic alopecia mouse model, reducing side effects compared to traditional treatments.
6 citations
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April 2022 in “Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin” This study found that cefazolin-loaded silica nanoparticles embedded in polycaprolactone nanofibers successfully inhibited Staphylococcus aureus growth while maintaining stem cell viability, suggesting their potential use in wound healing.
May 2024 in “Brazilian Journal of Hair Health” This study reported the successful development of finasteride-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles, with varying encapsulation efficiencies, aiming to enhance drug delivery for hair growth while minimizing side effects, and noted that an in vivo study will follow to assess efficacy.
21 citations
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June 2024 in “Pharmaceuticals” This review examines the potential of swellable microneedles in drug delivery and diagnostics, highlighting innovations and challenges in their use for chronic disease treatment, but noting that issues like physiological responsiveness and long-term stability still require research.
28 citations
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December 2016 in “Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A” This study found that mesenchymal progenitor cells from human hair roots seeded onto polymer scaffolds stimulated the production of mineralized proteins, enhancing bone-like structures, with optimal results at a pore size of 35 µm.
3 citations
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December 2021 This review explores fundamental aspects of niosomes in drug delivery, including their structure, preparation methods, and factors influencing their formation, but it reports no new experimental results.
January 2025 in “Nanoscale” This study reports that a new boron/nitrogen-doped carbon nano-onion-based delivery system for doxorubicin enhanced its uptake and anticancer effects in specific cancer cell types, while reducing cardiotoxicity in human heart cells.
30 citations
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November 2024 in “ACS Materials Au” This article provides an overview of microneedle technology for transcutaneous drug delivery, discussing microneedle designs, materials, and activation methods that enhance drug stability and regulated release, and outlines considerations for their successful clinical implementation, such as biocompatibility and production cost.
June 2025 in “Nanomedicine” This abstract introduces androgenic alopecia as the most common form of non-cicatricial alopecia, which predominantly affects men but also has a significant occurrence in women; however, specific research results or conclusions about treatments or mechanisms are not reported in the summary.
7 citations
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July 2018 in “International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutics” This study found that optimizing chitosan-tripolyphosphate nanoparticles can enhance the sustained percutaneous delivery of caffeine, with certain conditions affecting stability and release rates.
August 2025 in “OPAL (Open@LaTrobe) (La Trobe University)” This study demonstrates that machine learning-assisted fabrication of PRP-incorporated microneedles effectively promotes hair regrowth in AGA mice, outperforming minoxidil and mitigating biosafety risks associated with synthetic materials.