Abstract

Herein, the structural comparison, using the finite-element method (FEM), of different designs of individual hollow microneedles (MNs) is exposed, that is, conical, pyramidal, traditional, and sting type, for use as a transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS). These configurations attract interest in fields such as pharmaceutics and medicine due to their efficiency, easy administration of drugs, and significant reduction in pain compared to the traditional use of hypodermic needles. For the structural analysis and comparison of the proposed designs, ANSYS FEM-based software is used to simulate the insertion of an MN in the skin. The study and comparison are carried out under simulations of structural resistance, buckling analysis, and behavior in the MN-skin contact. The application forces are set according to the fracture resistance of the outside layer of the skin. A force of 0.16N for a conical MN is finally obtained as a critical application load to avoid a structural failure in the insertion of the MN in the human skin. Moreover, the use of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) is also assessed as a second biocompatible alternative due to both its easy handling for manufacture process and the resistance it presents in indentation simulations in which the applied force reaches 0.19N.