FDM printing of microneedles based on biocompatible and biodegradable thermoplastic polymers

Abstract

AbstractMicroneedles are an emerging class of transdermal drug delivery systems for biomedical applications. These devices allow minimally invasive and painless drug delivery, making them an attractive alternative to hypodermic injections. This paper focuses on the study of polymer‐based solid microneedles fabrication process using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) method. Biodegradable and biocompatible polymers are selected as printing materials. For this study, the thermoplastic polylactic acid (PLA), currently used for FDM microneedle preparation was selected. To overcome the potential brittleness of PLA during transdermal application, two other materials are also studied: polycaprolactone (PCL) and a PLA/PCL blend. The effect of 3D printing parameters on the dimensional accuracy of the microneedles is studied to determine the optimum printing conditions for each filament. In addition, the dimensions and/or geometry of the microneedles are modified to print its with minimal dimensions. Then, a post‐fabrication chemical etching treatment is used to improve both, size and shape of the printed solid microneedles.