Micropod · MICROPOrous Devices for next-generation therapeutic delivery
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2015-04-14 → 2017-04-13
- EU contribution
- €187,866
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-RI
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
MICROPOrous Devices for next-generation therapeutic delivery
Microneedle patches that can be applied to the skin are an important advance in the delivery of drugs. They offer advantages over the traditional needle and syringe, including needle phobia and the risk of needle stick injuries. To be effective in applications like vaccination, microneedle patches need to be cheap to produce, work in a reliable fashion and deliver a controlled amount of drug. Here, we are developing microneedle patches where the microneedles have interconnected porosity, for easy drug loading and maximising the amount of drug that can be stored in them.The goals of this project are to develop porous microneedle patches, using manufacturing techniques that are scalable and cost-effective and to show their potential use as an effective way of drug delivery. Our porous microneedle patches, Micropods, have been successfully developed in the lab and show promising potential for painless drug delivery. Introducing porosity into the microneedles means that drugs can be efficiently loaded into the patches. We are exploring the patentability of this technology before public disclosure and are seeking ways to advance it towards clinical applications. This project has been a catalyst for the fellow to set=up a new research lab at University College Dublin, the UCD Medical Device Design Lab, with the development of microneedle technology as a core focus.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Dr. Eoin O’Cearbhaill, a Biomedical Engineer, recently returned to Ireland to become a Lecturer in Bioengineering at University College Dublin. This fellowship will enable him to work with Prof. Michael Gilchrist to develop his career by implementing a research platform based on medical devices for therapeutic delivery, with a specific focus on microneedles. Microneedle transdermal patches are an important advance in the delivery of therapeutics, especially vaccines and biotech molecules. They offer advantages over the classic approaches of hypodermic drug delivery, (needle phobia, risk of needle stick injuries), oral delivery (degradation and poor intestinal permeability of biologics), and traditional skin patches (limited to passive delivery of small molecules). The traditional hollow needle design suffers from a scaling effect, limiting mechanical performance at the penetration depth required for efficient absorption and large molecule delivery. Current microneedle patches targeting transdermal delivery are often prohibitively expensive to manufacture and are prone to mechanical failure. Here, Dr. O’Cearbhaill proposes the development of microneedle patches with interconnected porosity, aimed at consistent, rapid delivery to dermal tissue, in close proximity to the capillary bed. This platform technology can also be applied to other minimally invasive devices designed to provide controlled therapeutic infusion to precise locations. The applicant will develop porous microdevices, using manufacturing techniques that are scalable and cost-effective, enhancing the commercial value and potential to rapidly translate this technology to patients. The reintegrating applicant’s proficiency in medical device concept development will synergise with the host’s expertise in computational modelling of penetration in soft tissue and micromanufacturing to aid in the applicant’s development as a leader in medical device design and innovation.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN · DublinCoordinatorIreland
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union