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Feasibility Study of Carbon Nanotube Microneedles for Rapid Transdermal Drug Delivery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2013

Bradley J. Lyon
Affiliation:
Graduate Aerospace Laboratories, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, U.S.A.
Adrianus I. Aria
Affiliation:
Graduate Aerospace Laboratories, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, U.S.A.
Morteza Gharib
Affiliation:
Graduate Aerospace Laboratories, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, U.S.A.
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Abstract

We introduce a new approach for fabricating hollow microneedles using vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs) for rapid transdermal drug delivery. Here, we discuss the fabrication of the microneedles emphasizing the overall simplicity and flexibility of the method to allow for potential industrial application. By capitalizing on the nanoporosity of the CNT bundles, uncured polymer can be wicked into the needles ultimately creating a high strength composite of aligned nanotubes and polymer. Flow through the microneedles as well as in vitro penetration of the microneedles into swine skin is demonstrated. Furthermore, we present a trade study comparing the difficulty and complexity of the fabrication process of our CNT-polymer microneedles with other standard microneedle fabrication approaches.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2013 

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