Microneedle patch devices have been widely utilized for transdermal drug delivery in pain management, but is challenged by accurate control of drug release and subsequent diffusion to human body. The recent emerging wearable electronics that could be integrated with microneedle devices offer a facile approach to address such a challenge. Here a 3D‐printed microheater integrated drug‐encapsulated microneedle patch system for drug delivery is presented. The ink solution comprised polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with a mass concentration of up to 45% (≈10 times higher of existing ones) is prepared and used to print crack‐free stretchable microheaters on substrates with a broad range of materials and geometric curves. The adhesion strength of the printed microheater on the microneedle patch in elevated temperatures is measured to evaluate their integration performance. Assessments of encapsulated drug release into rat's skin are confirmed by examining degradation of microneedles, skin morphologies, and released fluorescent signals. Results and demonstrations established here creates a new opportunity for developing sensor controlled smart microneedle patch systems by integrating with wearable electronics, potentially useful in clinical and biomedical research.
Existing transfer technologies in the construction of film-based electronics and devices are deeply established in the framework of native solid substrates. Here, we report a capillary approach that enables a fast, robust, and reliable transfer of soft films from liquid in a defect-free manner. This capillary transfer is underpinned by the transfer front of dynamic contact among receiver substrate, liquid, and film, and can be well controlled by a selectable motion direction of receiver substrates at a high speed. We demonstrate in extensive experiments, together with theoretical models and computational analysis, the robust capabilities of the capillary transfer using a versatile set of soft films with a broad material diversity of both film and liquid, surface-wetting properties, and complex geometric patterns of soft films onto various solid substrates in a deterministic manner.
Confining
liquid in a hydrophobic nanoenvironment has enabled a
broad spectrum of applications in biomedical sensors, mechanical actuators,
and energy storage and converters, where the outflow of confined liquid
is spontaneous and fast due to the intrinsic hydrophobic nature of
nanopores with extremely low interfacial friction, challenging design
capacity and control tolerance of structures and devices. Here, we
present a facile approach of suppressing the outflow of water confined
in hydrophobic nanopores with an electric field. Extensive molecular
dynamics simulations show that the presence of an electric field could
significantly strengthen hydrogen bonds and retard degradations of
the associated networks during the outflow. The outflow deformation
and strength are extracted to quantitatively characterize the electrical
suppression to outflow and agree well with simulations. This study
proposes a practical means of impeding the fast liquid outflow in
hydrophobic nanopores, potentially useful for devising nanofluidics-based
functional structures and devices with controllable performance.
In article number 1901170, Xudong Li, Baoxing Xu, and co‐workers present a microheater‐integrated biodegradable microneedle patch system by developing a 3D printing approach of ink‐solution on a curved substrate, and demonstrate that the microheater significantly enhances the delivery of encapsulated drugs from microneedles into human skin and beyond, potentially useful for fast, effective pain management.
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