Painless Microneedle Patch Could Replace Needles

Unlike epidermal patches, microneedles penetrate the upper layer of the skin, just enough to avoid touching the nerves. This enables delivery of drugs, extraction of physiological signals for fitness monitoring devices, extracting body fluids for real-time monitoring of glucose, pH level and other diagnostic markers, as well as skin treatments in cosmetics and bioelectric treatments.

Frank Niklaus, professor of micro and nanofabrication at KTH, says that practically all microneedle arrays being tested today are “monoliths”, that is, the needles and their supporting base are made of the same – often hard and stiff – material. While that allows the microneedles to penetrate the skin, they are uncomfortable to wear. On the other hand, if the whole array is made from softer materials, they may fit more comfortably, but soft needles are less reliable for penetrating the skin.

“To the best of our knowledge, flexible and stretchable patches with arrays of sharp and stiff microneedles have not been demonstrated to date,” he says.

They actually tested two variations of their concept, one which was stretchable and slightly more flexible than the other. The more flexible patch, which has a base of molded thiol-ene-epoxy-based thermoset film, conformed well to deformations of the skin surface and each of the 50 needles penetrated the skin during a 30 minute test.

A successful microneedle product could have major implications for health care delivery. “The chronically ill would not have to take daily injections,” says co-author Niclas Roxhed, who is research leader at the Department of Micro and Nanotechnology at KTH.

In addition to addressing people’s reluctance to take painful shots, microneedles also offer a hygiene benefit. The World Health Organization estimates that about 1.3 million people die worldwide each year due to improper handling of needles.

“Since the patch does not enter the bloodstream, there is less risk of spreading infections,” Roxhed says.

Contacts and sources:
KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Citation: Flexible and Stretchable Microneedle Patches with Integrated Rigid Stainless Steel Microneedles for Transdermal Biointerfacing; Mina Rajabi , Niclas Roxhed, Reza Zandi Shafagh, Tommy Haraldson, Andreas Christin Fischer, Wouter van der Wijngaart, Göran Stemme, Frank Niklaus; Published: December 9, 2016; PLOS ONE; http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0166330