Investigation on photopolymerization of PEGDA to fabricate high-aspect-ratio microneedles

Microneedles (MNs) are micron-sized needles that can penetrate the stratum corneum, enabling the non-invasive and painless administration of drugs and vaccines. In this work, fabrication conditions for high-aspect-ratio MNs by the photopolymerization of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) were investigated. Ultraviolet (UV) light was used to crosslink photocurable prepolymers in specific areas defined by a photomask. The aspect ratio of solidified MNs is too small to penetrate the stratum corneum if the degree of polymerization is insufficient. However, if the degree of polymerization is too high, a film is formed between the MNs by solidification of an undesired area owing to the scattering effect, reducing needle height. The influence of prepolymer molecular weight and the degree of UV absorption by the photoinitiator (PI) were studied to optimize the conditions for obtaining high-aspect-ratio MNs. Additionally, the effect of spacing ratio on high-aspect-ratio MNs without film formation has been discussed. A penetration test was conducted with porcine skin to analyze the effect of mechanical properties of MN. This study could guide the fabrication of MNs by the photopolymerization of biocompatible polymers with a photomask.