University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, CB 7115, 2147 Burlington Labs, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2010 Apr;7(4):513-33. doi: 10.1517/17425241003628171.
Microneedles are small-scale devices that are finding use for transdermal delivery of protein-based pharmacologic agents and nucleic acid-based pharmacologic agents; however, microneedles prepared using conventional microelectronics-based technologies have several shortcomings, which have limited translation of these devices into widespread clinical use.
Two-photon polymerization is a laser-based rapid prototyping technique that has been used recently for direct fabrication of hollow microneedles with a wide variety of geometries. In addition, an indirect rapid prototyping method that involves two-photon polymerization and polydimethyl siloxane micromolding has been used for fabrication of solid microneedles with exceptional mechanical properties.
In this review, the use of two-photon polymerization for fabricating in-plane and out-of-plane hollow microneedle arrays is described. The use of two-photon polymerization-micromolding for fabrication of solid microneedles is also reviewed. In addition, fabrication of microneedles with antimicrobial properties is discussed; antimicrobial microneedles may reduce the risk of infection associated with the formation of channels through the stratum corneum.
It is anticipated that the use of two-photon polymerization as well as two-photon polymerization-micromolding for fabrication of microneedles and other microstructured drug delivery devices will increase over the coming years.
微针是一种小规模的设备，用于经皮递送基于蛋白质的药物和基于核酸的药物；然而，使用传统微电子技术制备的微针有几个缺点，这限制了这些设备在广泛的临床应用中的转化。
双光子聚合是一种基于激光的快速原型制作技术，最近已被用于直接制造具有各种几何形状的空心微针。此外，还使用了一种间接的快速原型制作方法，涉及双光子聚合和聚二甲基硅氧烷微成型，用于制造具有卓越机械性能的实心微针。
在这篇综述中，描述了使用双光子聚合制作平面内和平面外空心微针阵列的方法。还回顾了使用双光子聚合-微成型制造实心微针的方法。此外，还讨论了具有抗菌性能的微针的制造；抗菌微针可能会降低与穿过角质层形成通道相关的感染风险。
预计在未来几年内，双光子聚合以及双光子聚合-微成型在微针和其他微结构药物输送装置的制造中的应用将会增加。
