A Fabrication of Whole-dissovable Microneedles Patch in Larger Area for Transdermal Drug Delivery

Abstract

Dissolvable microneedles (MNs) patch has been extensively developed as a new technique for minimally invasive transdermal drug livery. Recently, there are increasing needs for dissolvable MNs patches in larger area for human clinical applications. In this study, Stamping and Drawing Method (SDM) is proposed to fabricate whole-dissolvable MNs patch in 25 cm2 size simply and rapidly. Biodegradable hyaluronic acid (HA) was utilized as matrix material. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was chosen for the substrate of MNs patch due to its good flexibility and dissolvability which fits human skin's elastic properties and brings convenience for human use. Poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) stamps were designed in different sizes and used for fabricating MNs patches in large area successfully. The total fabrication time was reduced to less than 50 minutes, and the MNs remained in gelatin - a skin model after the substrate was dissolved and removed. More importantly, the whole-dissolvable MNs patch showed the good insertion capability by using porcine skin.