Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jaebum Sung, Hongyun So
Summary: This study demonstrates the use of 3D printing to create a variety of microgrid patterned surfaces, which can significantly reduce the adhesive forces of polymer surfaces by altering the angles and printing resolution.
SURFACES AND INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
Yukihiro Kanda, Hiroaki Takehara, Takanori Ichiki
Summary: This study investigated the deformation behavior of poly(L-lactic acid) microneedles with different tip diameters through simulation and experiment. It was found that the plastic deformation of the tip may increase the insertion force.
APPLIED PHYSICS EXPRESS
(2022)
Article
Instruments & Instrumentation
Yoo Chun Kim, Jeong Woo Lee, E. Stein Esser, Haripriya Kalluri, Jessica C. Joyce, Richard W. Compans, Ioanna Skountzou, Mark R. Prausnitz
Summary: The study developed a method to incorporate lyophilized influenza vaccine into microneedle patches, enabling stable processing and storage, as well as strong immune responses in a murine model.
DRUG DELIVERY AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Shang Lyu, Zhifei Dong, Xiaoxiao Xu, Ho-Pan Bei, Ho-Yin Yuen, Chung-Wai James Cheung, Man-Sang Wong, Yong He, Xin Zhao
Summary: Microneedles have gained widespread attention as a novel drug delivery system due to their non-invasiveness, painless administration, controllable drug delivery, and versatile cargo loading capacity. In addition to transdermal drug delivery, microneedles have shown promising results in promoting wound healing and tissue regeneration. This review provides an overview of microneedle systems, including potential cargos, structural designs, material selection, and drug release mechanisms. It also summarizes different fabrication methods and the recent progress of microneedle-assisted wound healing and tissue regeneration in various tissues and organs.
BIOACTIVE MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
A. P. Ajay, Amitava DasGupta, Dhiman Chatterjee
Summary: Transdermal drug delivery using hollow microneedles is made possible by the use of a single-step spin coating process to achieve the desired thickness of a biocompatible photopolymer, SU-8, while using UV lithography to create a monolithic microneedle array. The fabricated microneedles exhibit robust mechanical properties and low resistance to fluid flow, making them suitable for drug delivery applications.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Zahra Faraji Rad, Philip D. Prewett, Graham J. Davies
Summary: Microneedle patches have gained popularity for drug/vaccine delivery and fluid sampling systems. Additive manufacturing techniques, like 2PP, allow for precise fabrication of microstructures such as microneedle arrays, overcoming limitations of traditional manufacturing methods.
MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Optics
Quanji Wang, Shaorui Yang, Zijing Yang, Jun Duan, Wei Xiong, Leimin Deng
Summary: This study presents an efficient and flexible method using femtosecond laser bursts assisted by wet etching to fabricate large-area high-quality microlens arrays on a silica glass surface. The method involves fast micro crater ablation using femtosecond laser bursts and subsequent acid etching to obtain concave microlenses with controlled dimensions, shapes, and alignments. The results demonstrate the feasibility and flexibility of rapidly fabricating MLAs in the burst regime.
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Zahra Faraji Rad, Philip D. Prewett, Graham J. Davies
Summary: Microneedle-based microdevices offer a new way to deliver vaccines and therapeutic agents through the skin and extract biofluids for point-of-care diagnostics. They provide advantages over hypodermic needles with the benefits of unskilled and painless applications for blood collection or drug delivery. Development of microneedle fabrication processes has the potential to revolutionize health care delivery by changing the landscape of fluid sampling and subcutaneous drug delivery.
BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Optics
Chenchu Zhang, Hanchang Ye, Rui Cao, Shengyun Ji, Heng Zhang, Linhan Zhao, Sizhu Wu, Hua Zhai
Summary: In this study, a ring-shaped focus with controllable gaps was proposed by multiplexing the vortex beam and annular beam. The multiplexed beam has advantages such as individual control of diameter and flow energy of the focal point, unaffected by the zero-order beam.
CHINESE OPTICS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Raviraj Thakur, Gene Y. Fridman
Summary: Rapid prototyping methods enable non-engineering users to create microfluidic devices in a fast, simple, and inexpensive way. This study developed a liquid molding technique using wet paper molds to fabricate silicone/PDMS microfluidic devices. The influence of process parameters on device yield and quality was assessed. The method offers adjustable channel cross-section shape and utilizes electrical impedance as a marker for inspecting mold quality and identifying defects without visual tools.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Alper Baran Sozmen, Ahu Arslan Yildiz
Summary: A new polymer-assisted bonding method was proposed, combined with various phase-changing materials as channel-protective agents. Through experimentation, the optimal bonding solvent and polymer concentration were determined and successfully applied in the fabrication of a micro-droplet generator.
MICROFLUIDICS AND NANOFLUIDICS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Jorge Lozano, Boris Stoeber
Summary: The traditional wet electrode for recording biosignals can be inconvenient due to the need for electrolytic gel and skin preparation. This research introduces a novel dry microneedle electrode design and simple fabrication method that can record human signals without the use of gel or skin abrasion, suitable for long-term measurements.
BIOMEDICAL MICRODEVICES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Wojciech Raj, Daisy Yang, Craig Priest
Summary: This study demonstrates the application of a gas phase extraction microfluidic chip based on the concept of virtual walls where fluids are guided by wettability. The chip is prepared using a simple, rapid, and low-cost fabrication method, allowing for the stable liquid-vapor-liquid flow configuration for the extraction of volatile analytes. The analysis of ammonium hydroxide in artificial human saliva shows that the virtual walls chip is suitable for extracting volatile analytes from biofluids.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shanshan Qin, Gaozhi Ou, Biao Wang, Zheyu Li, Rui Hu, Ying Li, Yunhuang Yang
Summary: This study reports a photolithography-free method for rapid fabrication of PDMS devices. By using a laser cutter to ablate a tape, a male photoresist mold can be obtained within 5 minutes by a simple heating-step. The method offers advantages of low input, simple operation procedure, and short fabrication time.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Andrea Garcia-Junceda, Luca Puricelli, Andrea Valsesia, Francois Rossi, Pascal Colpo, Ana Ruiz-Moreno
Summary: A methodology to miniaturize mechanical tests of metal alloys based on membrane deformation was developed in this investigation. This method requires small amounts of material for testing, making it particularly suitable for irradiated structural nuclear materials. The micro-punch testing methodology combines the advantages of facilitating the interpretation of the mechanical response and the high-throughput microspecimen fabrication.