Microneedling with PDRN is sold in clinics as a two-part treatment: needles make channels in the skin, and a salmon-DNA serum is applied straight afterwards so it can reach deeper than it could on intact skin. The idea is reasonable on paper. This page counts what has been tested, reads the two controlled trials in detail, and lists what is registered and unreported.
For what PDRN is and the injection evidence, see our PDRN explainer; for the related trend with vesicles instead of DNA, microneedling with exosomes.
The census
A PubMed search on 28 October 2026 joining PDRN, polydeoxyribonucleotide or polynucleotide with any microneedle term returned 16 records. Every title was read:
| What the record is | Count |
|---|---|
| Controlled trials of polynucleotides applied after microneedling | 2 (both Siriraj Hospital, 2022) |
| Case series or real-world reports using a PDRN product with a procedure | 2 |
| Narrative, scoping or systematic reviews mentioning the combination | 4 |
| Animal study (a PDRN, vitamin C and niacinamide liquid delivered by microneedling in UV-exposed mice) | 1 |
| Practitioner surveys or consensus on polynucleotide practice | 3 |
| Unrelated (wound patches in animals, vaccine delivery, cadaver needle-depth studies, nose surgery) | 4 |
So the controlled evidence for the treatment clinics sell is two trials. Both used radiofrequency microneedling, which adds heat to the needles, not plain mechanical microneedling.
The two controlled trials
Both were run at Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, published in Dermatology and Therapy in 2022, and designed the same way: about 30 participants with Fitzpatrick skin types III to V, three sessions of noninsulated radiofrequency microneedling over the whole face two weeks apart, then polynucleotides on one randomly assigned half of the face and saline on the other, with follow-up to 6 months after the last session.
Melasma (Gulfan and colleagues). All participants were women, mean age 43. The polynucleotide product was a liquid containing 0.3 percent polynucleotides (REVS-NCFS 140 HPn, made by Reanzen in Korea), about 0.2 ml per half-face per session. Both halves of the face improved on melanin index, skin roughness and melasma severity score by 6 months, with no statistically significant difference between the polynucleotide side and the saline side. Three participants' melasma came back within four months. The authors concluded the combination "is not superior" to radiofrequency microneedling alone for melasma.
Periorbital wrinkles (Yogya and colleagues). Twenty-nine of 30 participants completed the protocol. Wrinkle depth measured by 3D imaging improved faster on the polynucleotide side at the 2-month follow-up; by 6 months most participants reported 25 to 75 percent improvement; the abstract does not report a between-side difference at that point. Average pain was 2.2 out of 10, and no serious adverse events were recorded. The authors concluded that topical polynucleotides "provide additional benefits" for this use.
Read together: one null result, one positive result at an early time point, the same hospital and device family, about 60 people in total. Neither used PDRN in the narrower sense.
The other published reports
- A 2026 journal supplement article (Wu and colleagues, Journal of Drugs in Dermatology) presents eight "real-world" cases in which nine doctors used a phyto-PDRN serum, with PDRN from the bacterium Lactobacillus sakei plus tripeptide-8, ectoin and botanicals, after laser, microneedling, radiofrequency microneedling and peels. It is a case selection by an expert panel, with no control group, and reports the serum as well tolerated.
- A 2026 narrative review in Cureus (Flores Rodríguez and colleagues; authors declare no funding or financial relationships) argues PDRN is a reasonable post-procedure adjunct but lists the limits plainly: "a lack of RCTs (with human aesthetic cohorts), small sample sizes, variability in formulations, and a lack of long-term follow-up".
What is registered and not reported
ClinicalTrials.gov, searched on 28 October 2026 for PDRN, polydeoxyribonucleotide or polynucleotide with microneedling, listed four studies:
| Registration | Sponsor | What it tests | Status | Results posted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07280637 | University of Taubaté (Brazil) | PDRN with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide around the eyes: intradermal injection vs microneedling, three sessions 30 days apart, 25 participants | active, not recruiting | no |
| NCT07210190 | Erevna Innovations | microneedling with a topical multivitamin serum; the summary is written around PDRN, 30 participants | completed | no |
| NCT07368686 | Erevna Innovations | a second topical multivitamin serum study with microneedling, 30 participants | completed | no |
| NCT07849205 | Cellese | exosomes with microneedling (not PDRN) | completed | no |
One inconsistency is worth noting: the Taubaté record's summary describes the formulation as 0.2 percent PDRN, while its intervention entries say 0.5 percent. Until results are posted, none of these registrations adds evidence.
What has not been studied
- Plain mechanical microneedling followed by PDRN, in a controlled trial.
- PDRN, in the narrow sense, after microneedling, against saline.
- Any retail serum or mask applied after at-home microneedling. Rollers sold for home use are a different procedure from the clinic devices in the trials.
- Outcomes beyond 6 months, and any trial outside Thailand.
What can fairly be said
Microneedling with PDRN rests on two 30-person split-face trials from one Bangkok hospital, both using radiofrequency microneedling and a polynucleotide product: one found no added benefit for melasma, the other faster wrinkle improvement at 2 months. Four registered studies have posted nothing. That is a small, mixed record for a treatment widely sold, and it covers the clinic procedure only. Questions about a specific treatment, its product and whether it suits a particular skin belong with a dermatologist.
Related reading: polynucleotides for skin, polynucleotides for under-eyes, microneedling with copper peptides, skin boosters and the at-home format, PDRN masks.
Sources
Opened 28 October 2026: PubMed search (polydeoxyribonucleotide*[tiab] OR PDRN[tiab] OR polynucleotide*[tiab]) AND (microneedl*[tiab]) (16, every title read). Gulfan MCB et al., Dermatol Ther (Heidelb) 2022;12:1325–1336, PMID 35538360, full text PMC9209614 (methods read for the product and dose). Yogya Y et al., Dermatol Ther (Heidelb) 2022;12:1133–1145, PMID 35501660. Wu Y et al., J Drugs Dermatol 2026;25(9) supplement, PMID 42696342. Flores Rodríguez JC et al., Cureus 2026, PMID 42299173. ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 search (PDRN OR polydeoxyribonucleotide OR polynucleotide) AND microneedling and records NCT07280637, NCT07210190, NCT07368686, NCT07849205. Corrections go to the contact page.