Review of MEMS-based drug delivery and dosing systems

Micro-dosing/drug delivery control system is a bio-chip in practice. It is mostly developed by Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. In micro-dosing or drug delivery control systems, the driving power source with driving methodology and bio-compatibility are the two key issues that a great deal of researchers are truly interested in. Since the micro-dosing and drug delivery systems are applied on human bodies, there inevitably exist inherent limitations. Our study is aimed at driving technology review from all aspects. Comparisons are made to unveil the advantages and shortcomings of different driving designs. In addition, bio-compatibility is addressed and discussed, especially upon the currently-used and potential bio-materials in bio-MEMS. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.