Apparatus And Method For Manufacturing Microneedles
First Claim
1. Apparatus for forming an array of microneedle structures in a polymer material, said apparatus comprising a mold assembly including at least one bore therethrough having a cavity therein defining the shape of the finished microneedle shape to be formed therein, said bore having an inlet opening and an exit opening;
- means for locating the polymer to be formed at one end of said cavity;
means for introducing fluid into said inlet opening of said bore and into said cavity; and
exhaust means communicating with said exit opening of said bore, whereby introducing said fluid through said polymer causes said polymer to assume the shape of said cavity and said fluid forms a hollow channel to define a needle-like structure in said polymer as said fluid is exhausted through said cavity and said bore.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The apparatus comprises a mold assembly including at least one bore therethrough having a cavity [[(44)]] therein defining the shape of the finished microneedle shape [[(58)]] to be formed therein. The bore has an inlet opening [[(46)]] and an exit opening [[(45)]]. The apparatus also comprises means for locating the polymer to be formed at one end of the cavity and means [[(26)]] for introducing fluid into the inlet opening of said bore and into the cavity. The apparatus also comprises exhaust means [[(56)]] communicating with the exit opening of the bore, so that introducing the fluid through the polymer causes the polymer to assume the shape of the cavity and the fluid forms a hollow channel [[(52)]] to define a needle-like structure [[(58)]] in the polymer as the fluid is exhausted through the cavity [[(44)]] and the bore.
22 Citations
43 Claims
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1. Apparatus for forming an array of microneedle structures in a polymer material, said apparatus comprising a mold assembly including at least one bore therethrough having a cavity therein defining the shape of the finished microneedle shape to be formed therein, said bore having an inlet opening and an exit opening;
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means for locating the polymer to be formed at one end of said cavity;
means for introducing fluid into said inlet opening of said bore and into said cavity; andexhaust means communicating with said exit opening of said bore, whereby introducing said fluid through said polymer causes said polymer to assume the shape of said cavity and said fluid forms a hollow channel to define a needle-like structure in said polymer as said fluid is exhausted through said cavity and said bore. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of forming an array of microneedle structures in a polymer material, comprising the steps of placing a polymeric material in a mold form having a cavity therein with an inlet opening and an exit opening in said cavity;
forcing a fluid under pressure through said polymeric material thereby causing the polymeric material to assume the shape of the mold form and continuing to force said fluid through the polymer until the fluid material exits from the outlet opening of said cavity, thereby forming a hollow channel through the polymer to define the microneedle structure formed in said cavity. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. An apparatus for forming an array of microneedle structures in a polymer material, said apparatus comprising a mold assembly having an upper manifold and lower manifold, each of said manifolds being adapted to be positioned in airtight relation relative to one another, the upper manifold having at least one cavity formed therein;
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at least one bore in said lower cavity feeding through to a bore in said cavity and through said upper manifold; an inlet port feeding said bore in said lower manifold; an exit port for exhausting said upper cavity via said bore in said upper manifold; a gas impervious gasket disposed between said upper and lower manifolds; a gas permeable membrane adapted to be positioned between said upper and lower manifolds. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. An apparatus for continuously forming an array of microneedle structures in a polymer material, said apparatus comprising a first elongated flexible and permeable belt-like member;
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means for generating gas under pressure through said first belt; means for moving said belt-like member past said gas generating means;
means for heating said gas means;means for placing a film of polymer material on said first belt prior to approaching said gas generating means; a continuous flexible mold form defining an array of microneedle cavities therein and adapted to be in contact with said polymer film; second belt flexible gas permeable means disposed above said mold form to permit heated gas under pressure to pass through said film and melt the polymer material and to force the molten material into said needle-like cavities and to exhaust said gas past said second belt.
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Specification