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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Fabrication and testing of polymer microneedles for transdermal drug delivery
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, Vol.13(1), pp.629-640
2022
PMCID: PMC9273988
PMID: 35874440
Abstract
Microneedle (MN) patches have considerable potential for medical applications such as transdermal drug delivery, point-of-care diagnostics, and vaccination. These miniature microdevices should successfully pierce the skin tissues while having enough stiff-ness to withstand the forces imposed by penetration. Developing low-cost and simple manufacturing processes for MNs is of con-siderable interest. This study reports a simple fabrication process for thermoplastic MNs from cycloolefin polymers (COP) using hot embossing on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) soft molds. COP has gained interest due to its high molding performance and low cost. The resin master MN arrays (9 ?? 9) were fabricated using two-photon polymerization (TPP). A previous gap in the detailed characterization of the embossing process was investigated, showing an average of 4.99 ?? 0.35% longitudinal shrinkage and 2.15 ?? 0.96% lateral enlargement in the molded MN replicas. The effects of bending, buckling, and tip blunting were then exam-ined using compression tests and also theoretically. MN array insertion performance was studied in vitro on porcine back skin using both a prototype custom-made applicator and a commercial device. An adjustable skin stretcher mechanism was designed and manufactured to address current limitations for mimicking skin in vivo conditions. Finite element analysis (FEA) was developed to simulate single MN insertion into a multilayered skin model and validated experimentally using a commercial Pen Needle as a model for the thermoplastic MNs. Margins of safety for the current MN design demonstrated its potential for transdermal drug delivery and fluid sampling. Experimental results indicated significant penetration improvements using the prototype applicator, which produced array penetration efficiencies as high as >92%, depending on the impact velocity setting.
Details
- Title
- Fabrication and testing of polymer microneedles for transdermal drug delivery
- Authors
- Vahid Ebrahiminejad - University of Southern QueenslandZahra Faraji Rad (Corresponding Author) - University of Southern QueenslandPhilip D. Prewett - University of BirminghamGraham J. Davies - UNSW Sydney
- Publication details
- Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, Vol.13(1), pp.629-640
- Publisher
- Beilstein - Institut zur Foerderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.3762/bjnano.13.55
- ISSN
- 2190-4286
- PMID
- 35874440; PMC9273988
- Copyright note
- This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Beilstein-Institut Open Access License Agreement (https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/terms), which is identical to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). The reuse of material under this license requires that the author(s), source and license are credited. Third-party material in this article could be subject to other licenses (typically indicated in the credit line), and in this case, users are required to obtain permission from the license holder to reuse the material.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991140405202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Domestic collaboration
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- Web Of Science research areas
- Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
- Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
- Physics, Applied
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