3-D biocompatible microneedle arrays with nanoporous surface
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During the past few years, developing painless needles or patches to replace traditional hypodermic needles has been investigated. Since micromachining can be used to construct a high density metallic micropillar array, we propose to use a biocompatible metal oxide, such as Al2O3 and TiO2, as an alternative material for fabricating arrays of microneedles. In this study, we fabricated an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) covered Al micro-indent array using electrochemical and mechanical micromachining. We demonstrate use of a nanoindenter to make pyramidal indentions on Al surface in order to produce a female microneedle array mold. We also performed melting injection to fill AAO template with ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) to produce UHMWPE nanotubes. The microneedle array provides a 3-D structure that possesses several hundred times more surface area than a traditional nanotube template. This suggests that a medical-grade polymer microneedle array can potentially be formed for more applications. This 3-D microneedle array device can be used not only for painless injection or extraction, but also for storage, highly sensitive detection, drug delivery, and microelectrodes.
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During the past few years, developing painless needles or patches to replace traditional hypodermic needles has been investigated. Since micromachining can be used to construct a high density metallic micropillar array, we propose to use a biocompatible metal oxide, such as Al2O3 and TiO2, as an alternative material for fabricating arrays of microneedles. In this study, we fabricated an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) covered Al micro-indent array using electrochemical and mechanical micromachining. We demonstrate use of a nanoindenter to make pyramidal indentions on Al surface in order to produce a female microneedle array mold. We also performed melting injection to fill AAO template with ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) to produce UHMWPE nanotubes. The microneedle array provides a 3-D structure that possesses several hundred times more surface area than a traditional nanotube template. This suggests that a medical-grade polymer microneedle array can potentially be formed for more applications. This 3-D microneedle array device can be used not only for painless injection or extraction, but also for storage, highly sensitive detection, drug delivery, and microelectrodes