Development of a Flexible and Disposable Microneedle-Fluidic-System With Finger-Driven Drug Loading and Delivery Functions for Inflammation Treatment

Patch-based transdermal drug delivery technology offers a convenient way to administer drugs without the drawbacks of standard hypodermic injections related to issues, such as patient acceptability and injection safety. In this paper, we developed a flexible and disposable microneedle-fluidic-system (MFS), which can achieve finger driven on-chip drug loading and delivery functions by integrating polydimethylsiloxane-based microfluidic dispensing networks, check valves, micropump, and SU-8 microneedles in a patch device. The control of particular loading or delivery volume for drugs is provided in terms of finger pressing to a micropump with a given dimension. The in vitro mechanical testing, penetration testing, and delivery testing prove the device functionalities. The local inflammation phenomenon of rats has been ameliorated with the aid of successful diclofenac deliver by our MFS patch.