Development of novel arrayed microjet devices for transdermal drug administration

Abstract

The micro-arrayed needle-free injector technology being developed for trans-dermal vaccine administration is based on PARCs work on ballistic aerosol marking, which was originally developed as an alternative to conventional ink-jet printing. The underlying idea behind it was to use high-speed air jets (at sonic to supersonic speeds) in order to accelerate entrained toner particles at sufficiently high speeds such that their kinetic energy would be sufficient to cause instant melting and fusing to the paper upon impact, thereby creating a pixel for print/imaging applications. This multi-year effort resulted in the development of a number of devices capable of producing high-speed air jets using microchannel-based arrayed venturi structures that were shown to successfully create print images using toner particles (typically in the size range of 4 to 8 m). Recently, we have also successfully used such approach to deliver liquid jets. In this paper, we describe a project to leverage this technology to develop novel drug delivery devices for transdermal administration of encapsulated powder vaccines.