Microneedles: materials, fabrication, and biomedical applications

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Microneedles are increasingly utilized for transdermal biomedical applications due to their painless and semi-invasive nature.
• Key challenges involve selecting appropriate materials and fabrication methods to achieve desired microneedle shapes, configurations, and functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the diverse materials used in microneedle fabrication.
• To explore the properties of microneedle materials, including hardness, Young's modulus, geometric structure, processability, biocompatibility, and degradability.
• To detail and compare recent fabrication methods for solid and hollow microneedles, analyzing their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of microneedle materials and properties.
• Analysis of fabrication techniques for solid and hollow microneedles.
• Review of current and emerging biomedical applications.

Main Results:

• Categorization of microneedle materials and their critical properties.
• Comparative analysis of various microneedle fabrication processes.
• Overview of microneedle applications in biosensing, drug delivery, body fluid extraction, and nerve stimulation.

Conclusions:

• This review provides fundamental knowledge for developing novel microneedle devices.
• It highlights the importance of material selection and fabrication techniques for targeted biomedical applications.
• The work offers insights into the expanding potential of microneedles across various biomedical fields.