uPATCH Supports Research on the Design and Skin Penetration of Polymeric Microneedles

uPATCH’s  contribution to advancing microneedle (MN) research continues! Our  Research   A pplicator was used in a recent study published in  Pharmaceutical Research , an official journal of @AAPS. 

In the study, titled  “A Comprehensive Design-to-skin Pipeline to Fabricate Polymeric Microneedles Using Ultrahigh-resolution 3D printing”  and conducted by researchers at LUMC and TUDelft, more than 75 different polymeric MN designs were produced, each differing in a single design parameter (Fig. 6). Subsequently, the influence of each individual design parameter on the ability of MNs to penetrate the skin was evaluated. To ensure controlled and reproducible application conditions, the  uPATCH   applicator was used, providing consistent MN insertions across all microneedle array patches (MAPs).

The different MN designs were applied to  ex vivo  human skin using various insertion velocities. The results showed that obelisk-shaped MNs have the lowest penetration efficiency.  The other MN designs demonstrated similar skin-piercing performance at high insertion velocities.  However, at lower velocities, MNs with a conical tip achieved the most efficient skin penetration. 

Overall, this work  provides  valuable insights into  optimizing  MN design to improve skin penetration and  ultimately drug  delivery. 

We are proud that  uPATCH ,  as  domain  expert in the field of microneedle applicators,  could contribute to this research and look forward to seeing how these findings support the further development of MN-based drug delivery.

DOI: 10.1007/s11095-025-03936-x