Microneedle patches – the future of drug delivery and vaccination?

Abstract

Hypodermic needles and cannulas have been in clinical use since the 17th century. The first bevelled metal hypodermic needles were introduced by Francis Reed in 1844, followed by the syringe and needle combination, due to Alexander Wood, in 1853. Needles for a single intravenous dose (IV push) or bolus normally use a fixed intravenous hollow needle. Hypodermic syringe injections are, of course, ubiquitous in modern medicine for drug therapy and vaccination, where oral administration is either not desirable or not possible. Delivery may be intravenous, intramuscular or percutaneous. Hypodermic needles of various dimensions are also used to extract venous blood for diagnostic tests. Other tests, such as blood glucose monitoring in diabetics [1], release blood by a pinprick from the capillaries immediately beneath the skin.