Silicon microneedle array with biodegradable tips for transdermal drug delivery

  • Authors:

  • Bangtao Chen;Jiashen Wei;Francis E. H. Tay;Yee Ting Wong;Ciprian Iliescu

  • Affiliations:

  • Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, The Nanos, #04-01, 639798, Singapore, Singapore;Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, The Nanos, #04-01, 639798, Singapore, Singapore;National University of Singapore, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, 119260, Singapore, Singapore;National University of Singapore, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, 119260, Singapore, Singapore;Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, The Nanos, #04-01, 639798, Singapore, Singapore

  • Venue:
  • Microsystem Technologies - Special issue on Design, Test, Integration and Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS, Stresa - Italy, 25 - 27 April 2007
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

This paper presents the fabrication process, characterization results and basic functionality of silicon microneedle array with biodegradable tips for transdermal drug delivery. In order to avoid the main problems related to silicon microneedles; the breaking of the top part of the needles inside the skin, a simple solution can be the fabrication of microneedle array with biodegradable tips. A silicon microneedle array was fabricated by deep reactive ion etching (RIE), using the photoresist reflow effect and RIE notching effect. The biodegradable tips were successfully realized using the electrochemical anodization process that selectively generated porous silicon only on the top part of the skin. The porous tips can be degraded within a few weeks if some of them are broken inside the skin during the insertion and release process. The paper presents also the results of in vitro release of calcein with animal skins using a microneedle array with biodegradable tips. Compared to the transdermal drug delivery without microneedle enhancer, the microneedle array had presented significant enhancement of drug release.