Viscoelastic Properties of Polymeric Microneedles Determined by Micromanipulation Measurements and Mathematical Modelling

Microneedles, including dissolvable ones made from biocompatible and biodegradable materials, have been widely studied and can potentially be used for transdermal drug delivery, disease diagnosis (sampling), skin care, etc. Characterizing their mechanical properties is essential, as being mechanically strong enough to pierce the skin barrier is one of the most fundamental and crucial requirements for them. The micromanipulation technique was based on compressing single microparticles between two flat surfaces to obtain force and displacement data simultaneously. Two mathematical models had already been developed to calculate the rupture stress and apparent Young’s modulus, which can identify variations of these parameters in single microneedles within a microneedle patch. In this study, a new model has been developed to determine the viscoelasticity of single microneedles made of hyaluronic acid (HA) with a molecular weight of 300 kDa loaded with lidocaine by using the micromanipulation technique to gather experimental data. The modelling results from the micromanipulation measurements suggest that the microneedles were viscoelastic and their mechanical behaviour was strain-rate dependent, which implies that the penetration efficiency of viscoelastic microneedles can be improved by increasing their piercing speed into the skin.