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Review
. 2008 Dec 8;364(2):227-36.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2008.08.032. Epub 2008 Aug 30.

Micro-scale devices for transdermal drug delivery

Anubhav Arora  1 , Mark R Prausnitz, Samir Mitragotri
Affiliations
Review

Micro-scale devices for transdermal drug delivery

Anubhav Arora et al. Int J Pharm. .

Abstract

Skin makes an excellent site for drug and vaccine delivery due to easy accessibility, immuno-surveillance functions, avoidance of macromolecular degradation in the gastrointestinal tract and possibility of self-administration. However, macromolecular drug delivery across the skin is primarily accomplished using hypodermic needles, which have several disadvantages including accidental needle-sticks, pain and needle phobia. These limitations have led to extensive research and development of alternative methods for drug and vaccine delivery across the skin. This review focuses on the recent trends and developments in this field of micro-scale devices for transdermal macromolecular delivery. These include liquid jet injectors, powder injectors, microneedles and thermal microablation. The historical perspective, mechanisms of action, important design parameters, applications and challenges are discussed for each method.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic of drug delivery using liquid jet injector
(to be printed after permission from (Mitragotri 2006)) (a) Formation of liquid jet (b) Initiation of hole formation due to impact of jet on skin surface (c) Development of hole inside skin with progress of injection (d) Deposition of drug at the end of hole in a near spherical or hemispherical pattern (spherical pattern shown).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Schematic of drug delivery using powder injector
(Modified from (Mitragotri 2006)) (a) Ejection of particles from nozzle (b) Impact of particles on skin surface (c) Penetration of particles across stratum corneum (d) Completion of delivery. Particles which penetrate into the skin are mostly distributed in stratum corneum and viable epidermis.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Schematic of drug delivery using different designs of microneedles
(a) Solid microneedles for permeabilizing skin via formation of micron-sized holes across stratum corneum. The needle patch is withdrawn followed by application of drug-containing patch (b) Solid microneedles coated with dry drugs or vaccine for rapid dissolution in the skin (c) Polymeric microneedles with encapsulated drug or vaccine for rapid or controlled release in the skin (d) Hollow microneedles for injection of drug solution.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Schematic of drug delivery using thermal ablation
(a) Microelectrodes are pressed against the skin. (b) Skin is ablated via heating due to RF energy or resistive heating in the electrodes. (c) After removing the ablation device, micropores formed are covered with drug patch for delivery.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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