Issue 41, 2022

Hollow microneedle array fabrication using a rational design to prevent skin clogging in transdermal drug delivery

Abstract

Microneedle (MN) technology is promising to replace hypodermic needles for practical use and painless drug delivery. However, the complex top-down fabrication process of functional MN arrays is a bottleneck that hinders their widespread use. Here, we fabricate the tapered hollow MN array using a unique bi-level-tip by combining strain-engineering and capillary self-assembly of carbon nanotube (CNT) microstructures. Strain-engineering facilitated by the offset pattern of the catalyst enables the growth of bent, bi-level CNT microstructures while capillary self-assembly helps in constituting the tapered geometry of MNs. The bottom-up fabrication that consists of only two standard photolithography steps and CNT growth to form the scaffold of MNs followed by a polymer (polyimide) reinforcement step to impart mechanical stiffness to MNs provides scalable and fewer processing steps. The tapered shape of the MN allows an 8 times smaller force to pierce and penetrate the skin compared to the straight MN. The liquid delivery rate of the bi-level-tip MN is measured to be 26% better than the flat tip MN of the same lumen size as its geometry reduces skin clogging effect at the needle tip. In addition, cytotoxicity tests verify that the polyimide reinforced CNT-MNs are biocompatible for future in vivo applications.

Graphical abstract: Hollow microneedle array fabrication using a rational design to prevent skin clogging in transdermal drug delivery

  • This article is part of the themed collection: Microneedles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
05 août 2022
Accepted
27 sept. 2022
First published
27 sept. 2022

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022,10, 8419-8431

Hollow microneedle array fabrication using a rational design to prevent skin clogging in transdermal drug delivery

N. Unver, S. Odabas, G. B. Demirel and O. T. Gul, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022, 10, 8419 DOI: 10.1039/D2TB01648F

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