A comparison of flow- and pressure-controlled infusion strategies for microneedle-based transdermal drug delivery
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Date
2022-07-15
Authors
Sebastian, Ryan
Guillerm, Theo
Tjulkins, Fjodors
Hu, Yuan
Clover, A. James P.
Lyness, Alexander
O'Mahony, Conor
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IEEE
Published Version
Abstract
Microneedle-based transdermal drug delivery is considered an attractive alternative to conventional injections using hypodermic needles due to its minimally invasive and painless nature; this has the potential to improve patient adherence to medication regimens. Hollow microneedles (MNs) are sharp, sub-millimeter protrusions with a channel that serves as a fluidic interface with the skin. This technology could be coupled with micro-pumps, embedded sensors, actuators and electronics to create Micro Transdermal Interface Platforms - smart, wearable infusion systems capable of delivering precise microdoses over a prolonged period. Using 500 µm tall hollow microneedles, ex-vivo human skin and a customized application/retraction device, this work focuses on comparing two infusion control strategies, namely ‘set pressure’ (SP) and ‘set flow’ (SF) infusion. It was found that flow-controlled infusion was capable of delivering higher volumes than pressure-driven delivery, and a mean volume of 3.8 mL was delivered using a set flowrate of 50 µL/minute. This suggests that flow driven delivery is a better control strategy and confirms that MN array retraction is beneficial for transdermal MN infusion.
Description
Keywords
Electric potential , Minimally invasive surgery , Drug delivery , Skin , Silicon , Sensor systems , Hypodermic needles
Citation
Ryan, S., Guillerm, T., Tjulkins, F., Hu, Y., Clover, J. A. P., Lyness, A. and O'Mahony, C. (2022) 'A Comparison of Flow- and Pressure-Controlled Infusion Strategies for Microneedle-based Transdermal Drug Delivery', EMBEC 2022, 44th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, 11-15 July, pp. 2573-2576. doi: 10.1109/EMBC48229.2022.9871582