Being sub-millimetre needle-like structures, microneedles (MNs) have the ability to create mechanical pathways through the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin. Hollow MNs allow continuous and controlled drug delivery under the skin in a minimally-invasive manner. Various MNs designs can be implemented in different materials including silicon, polysilicon, metal, glass, and polymers. Our technology to fabricate biocompatible metallic hollow MN arrays allows for low-cost MN manufacturing. In addition to intradermal drug delivery, MNs also allow for a number of biomedical sensing technologies such as therapeutic drug monitoring. Associated research topics include puncture mechanics and flow through deformable porous media.
M. Iapichino, H. Maibach, B. Stoeber, “Quantification methods comparing in vitro and in vivo percutaneous permeation by microneedles and passive diffusion”, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, vol. 638, art. 122885, 2023.
L. Wu, P. Shrestha, M. Iapichino, Y. Cai, B. Kim, B. Stoeber, “Characterization Method for Calculating Diffusion Coefficient of Drug from polylactic acid (PLA) Microneedles into The Skin,” Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, vol. 61, art. 102192, 2021.
S. Ranamukhaarachchi, C. Padeste, U. Häfeli, B. Stoeber, V. Cadarso, “Design considerations of a hollow microneedle-optofluidic biosensing platform incorporating enzyme-linked assays”, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering – Special Issue on microfluidic systems with integrated sensors, vol. 28, no. 2, art. No. 024002, 2018.
