Numerical simulation of microneedles' insertion into skin

Microneedles have recently received much attention as a novel way for transdermal drug delivery. In this paper, a numerical simulation of the insertion process of the microneedle into human skin is reported using the finite element method. A multilayer skin model consisting of the stratum corneum, dermis and underlying hypodermis has been developed. The effective stress failure criterion has been coupled with the element deletion technique to predict the complete insertion process. The numerical results show a good agreement with the reported experimental data for the deformation and failure of the skin and the insertion force. The influences of the mechanical properties of the skin and the microneedle geometry (e.g. tip area, wall angle and wall thickness) on the insertion force are discussed. The numerical results are helpful for the optimum design of the microneedles for the transdermal drug delivery system.     

Fabrication,Physicochemical Characterization,and Performance Evaluation of Biodegradable Polymeric Microneedle Patch System for Enhanced Transcutaneous Flux of High Molecular Weight Therapeutics

A revolutionary paradigm shift is being observed currently, towards the use of therapeutic biologics for disease management. The present research was focused on designing an efficient dosage form for transdermal delivery of α-choriogonadotropin (high molecular weight biologic), through biodegradable polymeric microneedles. Polyvinylpyrrolidone-based biodegradable microneedle arrays loaded with high molecular weight polypeptide, α-choriogonadotropin, were fabricated for its systemic delivery via transdermal route. Varied process and formulation parameters were optimized for fabricating microneedle array, which in turn was expected to temporally rupture the stratum corneum layer of the skin, acting as a major barrier to drug delivery through transdermal route. The developed polymeric microneedles were optimized on the basis of quality attributes like mechanical strength, axial strength, insertion ratio, and insertion force analysis. The optimized polymeric microneedle arrays were characterized for in vitro drug release studies, ex vivo drug permeation studies, skin resealing studies, and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies. Results depicted that fabricated polymeric microneedle arrays with mechanical strength of above 5 N and good insertion ratio exhibited similar systemic bioavailability of α-choriogonadotropin in comparison to marketed subcutaneous injection formulation of α-choriogonadotropin. Thus, it was ultimately concluded that the designed drug delivery system can serve as an efficient tool for systemic delivery of therapeutic biologics, with an added benefit of overcoming the limitations of parenteral delivery, achieving better patient acceptability and compliance.     

Measurement and Prediction of Insertion Force for the Mosquito Fascicle Penetrating into Human Skin

Mosquitoes are exceptional in their ability to pierce into human skin with a natural ultimate painless microneedle, namedfascicle. Here the structure of the Aedes albopictus mosquito fascicle is obtained using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM),and the whole process of the fascicle inserting into human skin is observed using a high-speed video imaging technique. Directmeasurements of the insertion force for mosquito fascicle to penetrate into human skin are reported. Results show that themosquito uses a very low force (average 18 μN) to penetrate into the skin. This force is at least three orders of magnitude smallerthan the reported lowest insertion force for an artificial microneedle with an ultra sharp tip to insert into the human skin. In orderto understand the piercing mechanism of mosquito fascicle tip into human multilayer skin tissue, a numerical simulation isconducted to analyze the insertion process using a nonlinear finite element method. A good agreement occurs between thenumerical results and the experimental measurements.     

Insertion of microneedles into skin: measurement and prediction of insertion force and needle fracture force

As a hybrid between a hypodermic needle and transdermal patch, we have used microfabrication technology to make arrays of micron-scale needles that transport drugs and other compounds across the skin without causing pain. However, not all microneedle geometries are able to insert into skin at reasonable forces and without breaking. In this study, we experimentally measured and theoretically modeled two critical mechanical events associated with microneedles: the force required to insert microneedles into living skin and the force needles can withstand before fracturing. Over the range of microneedle geometries investigated, insertion force was found to vary linearly with the interfacial area of the needle tip. Measured insertion forces ranged from approximately 0.1-3N, which is sufficiently low to permit insertion by hand. The force required to fracture microneedles was found to increase with increasing wall thickness, wall angle, and possibly tip radius, in agreement with finite element simulations and a thin shell analytical model. For almost all geometries considered, the margin of safety, or the ratio of fracture force to insertion force, was much greater than one and was found to increase with increasing wall thickness and decreasing tip radius. Together, these results provide the ability to predict insertion and fracture forces, which facilitates rational design of microneedles with robust mechanical properties.     

基于壳聚糖的可控缓释型微针制备与性能评价

在临床应用上,一种能够持续递送药物的微针(microneedle,MN)系统对于一些疫苗、激素类药物的递送具有重要价值。本文研究设计了一种基于壳聚糖的可控缓释型微针阵列(PVA/CS-MN),将微针贴片与药物相结合用于药物的可控长效缓释。重点研究了PVA/CS-MN的制备优化工艺,并对MN阵列外观形貌、力学性能、溶解与溶胀性能以及体外刺入性能进行了表征。实验结果表明,使用最优工艺制备的PVA/CS-MN具有良好的形貌以及力学性能,可以顺利在皮肤上打开微通道,并实现可控的溶解与溶胀功能。同时,体外透皮扩散实验表明,以抗坏血酸(l-ascorbic acid)为模型药物制备的Vc-PVA/CS-MN在1 h内即释放了约57%的药物,随后12 h内缓慢释放了约66.7%的药物,7 d后最终释放了92%的药物。PVA/CS-MN具备可控的缓释特性以及优良的药物递送效率,为药物的持续透皮递送提供了一个新选择。     

生物相容透皮给药微针治疗浅表肿瘤

复杂的肿瘤微环境导致抗肿瘤药物在肿瘤组织内递送效率低下，严重阻碍了药物对浅表肿瘤的治疗效果。生物相容透皮给药微针凭借较高的机械强度，刺穿皮肤角质层，将微针内的药物递送至浅表肿瘤组织内，提高生物利用度，改善静脉注射、口服给药的肝肾毒性等问题。本文介绍了生物相容透皮给药微针的设计及其在癌症化疗、光动力治疗、光热治疗、免疫治疗、基因治疗等领域的研究进展，对浅表肿瘤的微创、局部递药和精准、高效治疗具有重要指导意义。     

Lidocaine-loaded fish scale-nanocellulose biopolymer composite microneedles

Microneedle (MN) technology has emerged as an effective drug delivery system, and it has tremendous potential as a patient friendly substitute for conventional methods for transdermal drug delivery (TDD). In this paper, we report on the preparation of lidocaine-loaded biodegradable microneedles, which are manufactured from fish scale-derived collagen. Lidocaine, a common tissue numbing anaesthetic, is loaded in these microneedles with an aim of delivering the drug with controlled skin permeation. Evaluation of lidocaine permeation in porcine skin has been successfully performed using Franz diffusion cell (FDC) which has shown that the drug permeation rate increases from 2.5 to 7.5% w/w after 36 h and pseudo steady state profile is observed from 5.0 to 10.0% w/w lidocaine-loaded microneedle. Swelling experiments have suggested that the microneedles have negligible swellability which implies that the patch would stick to the tissue when inserted. The experiments on MN dissolution have depicted that the lidocaine loaded in the patch is lower than the theoretical loading, which is expected as there can be losses of the drug during initial process manufacture.     

基于壳聚糖的搭载光源可溶性微针的制备与评价

光动力疗法与给药微针(microneedle, MN)相结合为治疗肿瘤提供了一种安全有效的途径。本文设计了一种基于壳聚糖搭载高能光子的可控缓释型载药微针贴片(LED-losartan-HEMA/ CS-MN, LLH-CSMN),重点研究了其制备工艺,并且以氯沙坦为模型药物对微针阵列的形貌尺寸进行了表征,探究了LLH-CSMN的力学性能、皮肤穿刺性能、缓释性能以及高能光子在长时间工作下的光热性能。结果表明,基于壳聚糖搭载高能光子的微针贴片能够有效地在皮肤表面打开通道进行药物递送,并进行光动力治疗。同时,体外透皮扩散试验表明,以氯沙坦为模型药物制备的微针在1 h内释放了约30%的药物,在1 d内总共释放了约60%的药物,随后进行缓慢释放,在6 d后最终释放了93%的药物,LLH-CSMN具有可控缓释特性以及良好的长效光辅助治疗效果,为肿瘤治疗提供了一个新的安全有效途径。     

Influence of needling conditions on the corneal insertion force

Abstract

Needle insertion plays an important part in the process of corneal graft surgery. In this paper, a three-dimensional symmetry model of the human cornea is constructed using the finite element method. Simplification of specific optic physiology is defined for the model: The cornea constrained by the sclera is presented as two layers consisting of epithelium and stroma. A failure criterion based on the distortion energy theory has been proposed to predict the insertion process of the needle. The simulation results show a good agreement with the experimental data reported in the literature. The influence of needling conditions (e.g. insertion velocity, rotation parameters and vibration parameters) on the insertion force are then discussed. In addition, a multi-objective optimization based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) is applied to reduce the insertion force. The numerical results provide guidelines for selecting the motion parameters of the needle and a potential basis for further developments in robot-assisted surgery.     

Fabrication of degradable carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) microneedle with laser writing and replica molding process for enhancement of transdermal drug delivery

Transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) may provide a more reliable method of drug delivery than oral delivery by avoiding gut absorption and first-pass metabolism, but needs a method for efficiently crossing the epidermal barrier. To enhance the delivery through the skin, we have developed a biocompatible, dissolvable microneedle array made from carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Using laser ablation for creating the mold greatly improved the efficiency and reduced the cost of microneedle fabrication. Mixing CMC with amylopectin (AP) enhanced the mechanical and tunable dissolution properties of the microneedle for controlled release of model compounds. Using the CMC microneedle array, we observed significant enhancement in the skin permeability of a fluorescent model compound, and also increase in the anti-oxidant activity of ascorbic acid after crossing the skin. Our dissolvable microneedle array provides a new and biocompatible method for delivery of drugs and cosmetic compounds through the skin.     

Fluidity enhancement: a critical factor for performance of liposomal transdermal drug delivery system

Liposomes are well known lipid carriers for drug delivery of bioactive molecules encapsulated inside their membrane. Liposomes as skin drug delivery systems were initially promoted primarily for localized effects with minimal systemic delivery. Subsequently, a novel vesicular system, transferosomes was reported for transdermal delivery with efficiency similar to subcutaneous injection. The multiple bilayered organizations of lipids applied in these vesicles structure are somewhat similar to complex nature of stratum corneal intercellular lipids domains. The incorporation of novel agents into these lipid vesicles results in the loss of entrapped markers but it is similar to fluidization of stratum corneum lipids on treatment with a penetration enhancer. This approach generated the utility of penetration enhancers/fluidizing agents in lipids vesicular systems for skin delivery. For the transdermal and topical applications of liposomes, fluidity of bilayer lipid membrane is rate limiting which governs the permeation. This article critically reviews the relevance of using different types of vesicles as a model for skin in permeation enhancement studies. This study has also been designed to encompass all enhancement measurements and analytical tools for characterization of permeability in liposomal vesicular system.     

The Troy Microneedle: A Rapidly Separating,Dissolving Microneedle Formed by Cyclic Contact and Drying on the Pillar (CCDP)

In dissolving microneedle (DMN)-mediated therapy, complete and rapid delivery of DMNs is critical for the desired efficacy. Traditional patch-based DMN delivery, however, may fail due to incomplete delivery from insufficient skin insertion or rapid separation of microneedles due to their strong bond to the backing film. Here, we introduce the Troy microneedle, which was created by cyclic contact and drying on the pillar (CCDP), and which enabled simultaneous complete and rapid delivery of DMN. This CCDP process could be flexibly repeated to achieve a specific desired drug dose in a DMN. We evaluated DMN separation using agarose gel, and the Troy microneedle achieved more complete and rapid separation than other, more deeply dipped DMN, primarily because of the Troy’s minimal junction between the DMN and pillar. When Troy microneedles were applied to pig cadaver skin, it took only 15 s for over 90% of encapsulated rhodamine B to be delivered, compared to 2 h with application of a traditional DMN patch. In vivo skin penetration studies demonstrated rapid DMN-separation of Troy microneedles still in solid form before dissolution. The Troy microneedle overcomes critical issues associated with the low penetration efficiency of flat patch-based DMN and provides an innovative route for DMN-mediated therapy, combining patient convenience with the desire drug efficacy.     

Perspectives on transdermal ultrasound mediated drug delivery

The use of needles for multiple injection of drugs, such as insulin for diabetes, can be painful. As a result, prescribed drug noncompliance can result in severe medical complications. Several noninvasive methods exist for transdermal drug delivery. These include chemical mediation using liposomes and chemical enhancers or physical mechanisms such as microneedles, iontophoresis, electroporation, and ultrasound. Ultrasound enhanced transdermal drug delivery offers advantages over traditional drug delivery methods which are often invasive and painful. A broad review of the transdermal ultrasound drug delivery literature has shown that this technology offers promising potential for noninvasive drug administration. From a clinical perspective, few drugs, proteins or peptides have been successfully administered transdermally because of the low skin permeability to these relatively large molecules, although much work is underway to resolve this problem. The proposed mechanism of ultrasound has been suggested to be the result of cavitation, which is discussed along with the bioeffects from therapeutic ultrasound. For low frequencies, potential transducers which can be used for drug delivery are discussed, along with cautions regarding ultrasound safety versus efficacy.     

Synergistic Transdermal Delivery of Biomacromolecules Using Sonophoresis after Microneedle Treatment

Transdermal drug delivery systems have been studied as an attractive alternative to conventional delivery routes. However, the outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum, acts as a primary barrier to drug delivery. A synergistic combination of microneedles (MNs) and low-frequency ultrasound (U) was used to enhance the penetration of siRNA and ovalbumin. The specific gene knockdown caused by siRNAs through the RNA interference pathway is more stable when delivered via the transdermal route. Ovalbumin, a representative adjuvant, causes a more efficient immune response in the skin because of the numerous immune cells in the skin. The synergistic transdermal delivery resulted in approximately 7 times and 15 times greater penetration of siRNA and ovalbumin respectively than in their respective negative controls, and histological analysis showed minimal invasion. Thus, as the synergistic transdermal delivery enhanced the penetration of biomacromolecules into the skin, this technique is expected to yield a promising technology for a transdermal drug delivery system.     

皮肤模型与微针穿刺性能评价的研究

微针阵列作为新型透皮给药技术,受到广泛关注。通常以刺入力、刺入率和刺入深度来评价微针刺入皮肤的程度和效率。皮肤是其性能评价的基础。皮肤的物理特性主要由角蛋白丝、胶原纤维、弹性纤维和皮下组织综合决定,并且从厚度、弹性、硬度和韧性等维度反映其对微针刺入的影响。机械的、渗透的、组织的和屏障的等皮肤模型被用于解读和模拟真实皮肤的该方面功能。同样,通过皮肤力学分析后建立的包括本构模型在内的各种皮肤力学模型也从物理维度解析皮肤的力学特征。真实皮肤具有复杂性,存在差异性大、不易获取和储存,以及伦理等问题,而皮肤模型可在一定程度上代替真实皮肤辅助微针递送系统设计、开发和性能评价。本文系统回顾分析了皮肤组织的物理特性、各种皮肤模型的制备及特点、真实皮肤和模拟皮肤在评价微针穿刺性能方面的应用,为开发及建立合适的皮肤模型提供借鉴。     

微针用于生物大分子及纳米药物透皮给药的尝试与挑战

生物大分子及纳米药物,比如,亚单位疫苗、DNA疫苗、以及针对真皮层的治疗药物,作为近年来新兴的治疗药物,在有些治疗领域有着透皮给药的需求。由于具有靶向性高,疗效显著等特点,生物大分子及纳米药物逐渐成为新的研究热点。微针作为一种新型的给药技术,不仅具有无痛、给药方便等优点,而且运用物理手段可大幅提高大分子甚至纳米药物的透皮吸收及皮层靶向,能够避过胃肠道消化作用以及肝脏首过效用。将微针技术与生物大分子药物相结合,能够同时发挥两者的优势,实现高靶向生物药物的无痛给药。本文简述微针透皮给药技术、以及生物大分子给药的研究进展,对微针技术用于生物大分子及纳米药物透皮给药的尝试研究做了介绍和总结,对存在的技术挑战进行了分析和展望。     

综述——纳米材料与药物输递：经皮给药中纳米制剂与皮肤的质构效关系

皮肤是人体最大的器官,也为药物的递送提供了重要途径。经皮给药是药物以皮肤为媒介,透过皮肤吸收的途径。因此,皮肤角质层是经皮给药的最大限速障碍。纳米经皮给药系统,具有提高透皮效率、缓释性、避免药物肝首过效应、减少副作用等优点,是通过纳米制剂与皮肤组织之间的相互作用实现的。其中,纳米制剂的结构和组分与其发挥皮肤促渗效用密切相关。对纳米制剂与皮肤质构效关系深入透彻的了解,有助于新型透皮纳米制剂的设计,并利用综合手段构建安全、高效、实用的经皮给药系统。     

The Experimental Evaluation and Molecular Dynamics Simulation of a Heat-Enhanced Transdermal Delivery System

Transdermal delivery systems are useful in cases where preferred routes such as the oral route are not available. However, low overall extent of delivery is seen due to the permeation barrier posed by the skin. Chemical penetration enhancers and invasive methods that disturb the structural barrier function of the skin can be used to improve transdermal drug delivery. However, for suitable drugs, a fast-releasing transdermal delivery system can be produced by incorporating a heating source into a transdermal patch. In this study, a molecular dynamics simulation showed that heat increased the diffusivity of the drug molecules, resulting in faster release from gels containing ketoprofen, diclofenac sodium, and lidocaine HCl. Simulations were confirmed by in vitro drug release studies through lipophilic membranes. These correlations could expand the application of heated transdermal delivery systems for use as fast-release-dosage forms.     

Mechanics of a mosquito bite with applications to microneedle design

The mechanics of a fascicle insertion into the skin by a mosquito of the type aedes aegypti has been studied experimentally using high-speed video (HSV) imaging, and analytically using a mathematical model. The fascicle is a polymeric microneedle composed of a ductile material, chitin. It has been proposed that the mosquito applies a non-conservative follower force component in addition to the Euler compressive load in order to prevent buckling and penetrate the skin. In addition, the protective sheath surrounding the fascicle (labium) provides lateral support during insertion. The mechanics model presented approximates the fascicle as a slender column supported on an elastic foundation (labium) subjected to non-conservative (Beck) and conservative Euler loads simultaneously at the end. Results show that the lateral support of the fascicle provided by the labium is essential for successful penetration by increasing the critical buckling load by a factor of 5. The non-conservative follower force application increases the buckling load by an additional 20% and may or may not be necessary for successful penetration. Experimental results showing the importance of the labium have been cited to validate the model predictions, in addition to the video observations presented in this work. This understanding may be useful in designing painless needle insertion systems as opposed to miniaturized hypodermic needles.