Functionalized microneedles for continuous glucose monitoring

Microneedles (MNs) have been established as promising medical devices as they are minimally invasive, cause less pain, and can be utilized for self-administration of drugs by patients. There has been rapid development in MNs for transdermal monitoring and diagnostic systems, following the active research on fabrication methods and applications for drug delivery. In this paper, recent investigations on bio-sensing using MNs are reviewed in terms of the applicability to continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS), which is one of the main research focuses of medical engineering technologies. The trend of the functionalized MNs can be categorized as follows: (i) as a sensing probe, and (ii) as a biological fluid collector. MNs as in vivo sensors are mainly integrated or coated with conductive materials to have the function as electrodes. MNs as fluid collectors are given a certain geometrical design, such as a hollow and porous structure aided by a capillary action or negative pressure, to extract the interstitial fluids or blood for ex vivo analysis. For realization of CGMS with MNs, a long-term accurate measurement by the MN-based sensing probe or a fluidic connection between the MN-based fluid collector and the existing microfluidic measurement systems should be investigated.