3D Printed Hollow Microneedles
with a Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Device to Sense Glucose, Lactate, and Interleukin-6 from Interstitial Fluid
June 2023-September 2023
Motivation
Interstitial fluid (ISF) is rich in biomarkers, which aid in diagnosing and monitoring various diseases. However, there continues to be a lack of collection methods to sample an adequate amount of ISF for analysis and diagnostics. In this project, 3D printed hollow microneedles (MN) attached to a vacuum system provide a noninvasive method to sample ISF to obtain sense glucose, lactate, and interleukin-6 levels.
NOTE: as this research has yet to be published, I cannot go in much detail but would be happy to discuss further!
Design & Fabrication
Our design principle uses two 3D printed sections, one consisting of a patch that holds the hollow microneedles and another that attaches to a vacuum system. This vacuum system enables the sampling of the ISF. The 3D printed portions were modeled in SolidWorks and then printed using an Asiga SLA resin printer.
Also included in the microneedle system will be a sensor that detects various biomarkers, such as glucose and lactate, paving the way for point-of-care diagnostics!
Testing
Now that we had our design, it was time to perform testing to see how it actually worked! We tested on agarose and chicken skin to confirm that our design was able to successfully sample fluid. We have yet to sample in vivo.