Devices and methods for transporting fluid across a biological barrier
First Claim
1. A microneedle device for transporting fluid across a biological barrier, the device comprising:
- (a) a fluid transport configuration including;
(i) a substrate defining a substantially planar surface,(ii) a plurality of microneedles projecting from said substantially planar surface, and(iii) for each of said microneedles, a conduit extending through at least part of said microneedle, said conduit being configured to provide a fluid flow path for transport of fluids;
(b) an abutment member having at least one abutment surface for abutting the biological barrier, said abutment member configured to anchor a region of the biological barrier so as to oppose movement of the biological barrier parallel to a surface of the biological barrier; and
(c) a displacement mechanism mechanically linking between said abutment member and said fluid transport configuration, said displacement mechanism defining a path of movement of said fluid transport configuration relative to said abutment surface, at least part of said path of movement being such that, when said abutment member is anchored to the biological barrier and said displacement mechanism is actuated, said microneedles move relative to an initial position of the biological barrier together, while in contact with the biological barrier, in a direction having a non-zero component parallel to the surface of the biological barrier.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A device (10) and method for transporting fluids across biological barriers enhances penetration of a biological barrier by the use of directional insertion, preferably with asymmetric microneedles (18) and/or microneedles (18) with sharp edges. Additionally, or alternatively, adhesion followed by alteration of contact geometry is employed to stretch the biological barrier across the microneedles (18), thereby also enhancing penetration. Also disclosed is a device (10) and method which combine shallow penetration by hollow microneedles (18) with jet injection via the microneedles (18) to achieve a total liquid penetration depth greater than the mechanical penetration depth of the microneedles (18).
-
Citations
27 Claims
-
1. A microneedle device for transporting fluid across a biological barrier, the device comprising:
-
(a) a fluid transport configuration including; (i) a substrate defining a substantially planar surface, (ii) a plurality of microneedles projecting from said substantially planar surface, and (iii) for each of said microneedles, a conduit extending through at least part of said microneedle, said conduit being configured to provide a fluid flow path for transport of fluids; (b) an abutment member having at least one abutment surface for abutting the biological barrier, said abutment member configured to anchor a region of the biological barrier so as to oppose movement of the biological barrier parallel to a surface of the biological barrier; and (c) a displacement mechanism mechanically linking between said abutment member and said fluid transport configuration, said displacement mechanism defining a path of movement of said fluid transport configuration relative to said abutment surface, at least part of said path of movement being such that, when said abutment member is anchored to the biological barrier and said displacement mechanism is actuated, said microneedles move relative to an initial position of the biological barrier together, while in contact with the biological barrier, in a direction having a non-zero component parallel to the surface of the biological barrier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method for transporting fluid across a biological barrier comprising the steps of:
-
(a) providing a fluid transport configuration including; (i) a substrate defining a substantially planar surface, (ii) a plurality of microneedles projecting from said substantially planar surface, and (iii) for each of said microneedles, a conduit extending through at least part of said microneedle, said conduit being configured to provide a fluid flow path for transport of fluids; (b) positioning said fluid transport configuration in contact with the biological barrier; and (c) displacing said fluid transport configuration so that said microneedles move together in contact with said biological barrier along a common path of movement relative to an initial position of the biological barrier, said path having a non-zero component parallel to said substantially planar surface, wherein each of said microneedles has a base-to-tip vector defined as a vector from a centroid of a base area of said microneedle to a centroid of a penetrating tip of said microneedle, said microneedles being asymmetrical such that said base-to-tip vector is non-perpendicular to said substantially planar surface, a direction parallel to a projection of said base-to-tip vector on to said substantially planar surface being taken to define a penetration direction. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. A method for transporting fluid across a biological barrier comprising the steps of:
-
(a) providing a fluid transport configuration including; (i) a substrate defining a substantially planar surface, (ii) a plurality of microneedles projecting from said substantially planar surface, and (iii) for each of said microneedles, a conduit extending through at least part of said microneedles, said conduit being configured to provide a fluid flow path for transport of fluids; (b) positioning said fluid transport configuration in contact with the biological barrier; and (c) displacing said fluid transport configuration so that said microneedles move together in contact with said biological barrier along a common path of movement relative to an initial position of the biological barrier, said path having a non-zero component parallel to said substantially planar surface, wherein each of said microneedles is formed with at least one side wall standing substantially perpendicular to said substantially planar surface and at least one wall inclined relative to a perpendicular to said substantially planar surface.
-
-
26. A method for transporting fluid across a biological barrier comprising the steps of:
-
(a) providing a fluid transport configuration including; (i) a substrate defining a substantially planar surface, (ii) a plurality of microneedles projecting from said substantially planar surface, and (iii) for each of said microneedles, a conduit extending through at least part of said microneedle, said conduit being configured to provide a fluid flow path for transport of fluids; (b) positioning said fluid transport configuration in contact with the biological barrier; and (c) displacing said fluid transport configuration so that said microneedles move together in contact with said biological barrier along a common path of movement relative to an initial position of the biological barrier, said path having a non-zero component parallel to said substantially planar surface, wherein each of said microneedles is formed with at least two side walls each having a substantially planar face, said side walls being positioned such that an angle between said faces as measured in a plane parallel to said substantially planar surface of said base is no greater than 90°
.- View Dependent Claims (27)
-
Specification