| Description |
-
Abstract: Thin-film
microneedle patches have emerged as an exciting alternative to hypodermic needles as
they offer a simple, minimally-invasive approach to drug and vaccine delivery. Despite
extensive research, many materials chosen for use in microneedle patches limit the total
device scope through poor processing, stability, or mechanical properties. Silk fibroin
protein from Bombyx mori ... read moreoffers the potential to bridge the gaps in microneedle
fabrication associated with other materials as it offers a suite of properties including
mechanical strength, biocompatibility, tunable release, and simple processing conditions
compared to metals, glasses, and polymers. While silk microneedle patches are an
excellent platform for transdermal delivery of drugs and vaccines, there exist
limitations with their use due to existing fabrication methods. In the present work, the
investigation of device and fabrication process improvements to recapture some of the
advantages of silk over other materials is reported. Through demonstration of
conformable microneedle patches, successful influenza vaccination, and novel device
formats, the broad utility of silk microneedles is demonstrated. This work provides
evidence of the capability of the silk microneedle platform to be designed for drug or
vaccine delivery, biosensing, and tissue engineering
applications.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University,
2015.
Submitted to the Dept. of Biomedical
Engineering.
Advisor: David
Kaplan.
Committee: Fiorenzo Omenetto, and Ayse
Asatekin.
Keyword: Biomedical
engineering.read less
|
|---|
This object is in collection
