Shape-Memory Polymer Microneedles for Stable Fixation and Easy Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional microneedles and microneedle structures face challenges in being easily removed from the skin after use, as research has primarily focused on drug delivery rather than the removal process.
Innovation Solution
A microneedle structure incorporating a shape-memory polymer that can deform from a first shape with high skin binding force to a second shape with low skin binding force, allowing for stable fixation during drug delivery and easy removal from the skin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If microneedles are designed with conventional materials and structures for stable skin fixation, then drug delivery reliability is improved, but removal difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The microneedle structure transitions from a static conventional design to a dynamic shape-memory polymer structure that can change its shape in response to external stimuli. The microneedles are inserted in a first shape that provides stable skin fixation, then transformed into a second shape that enables easy removal, thus resolving the contradiction between fixation stability and removal ease through dynamic adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the microneedle material by using shape-memory polymers that can alter their shape in response to external stimuli such as temperature changes. This parameter change allows the microneedles to transition between an insertion shape for stable fixation and a removal shape for easy extraction, simultaneously achieving both reliable drug delivery and easy removal.
2Ease of operation
If microneedles use shape-memory polymer to enable easy removal, then removal ease is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses shape-memory polymers that undergo parameter changes in response to external stimuli, allowing the microneedles to transform between insertion and removal shapes. This material-based solution achieves complex functional behavior (easy removal after insertion) without requiring mechanically complex structures, thus improving removal ease while keeping the overall device complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The shape-memory polymer microneedles possess self-service capabilities by automatically transforming from an insertion shape to a removal shape in response to external stimuli without requiring additional mechanical components or complex actuation mechanisms. This self-transforming property simplifies the overall device structure while enabling easy removal functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The microneedle structure enables stable fixation to the skin for drug delivery while allowing for easy removal due to the shape-memory polymer's ability to change shapes in response to external stimuli, such as temperature changes.
Implementation Method 1
microneedles including a shape-memory polymer and formed to be deformed from a first shape to a second shape by a predetermined external stimulus according to the characteristics of the shape-memory polymer
Data Source
AI summary
A microneedle structure is disclosed. The microneedle structure according to one aspect of the present invention comprises microneedles to be inserted into the skin, and may comprise: microneedles comprising a shape-memory polymer so that a first shape can be changed to a second shape by a predetermined external stimulus according to the characteristics of the shape-memory polymer, and a support member having the microneedles formed on one surface thereof.