Mechanical Investigation of Solid MNs Penetration into Skin Using Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

In the past two decades, microneedles (MNs) patches as a promising platform have been extensively investigated for transdermal delivery of drug drugs, cells, and active substances and extraction of bio‐fluids. To realize painless, efficacious, and safe transdermal delivery, these MNs must penetrate the skin to the appropriate depth without breaking or bending. Therefore, effective prediction of mechanical properties such as skin penetration of microneedles is crucial for the material and structural design of MNs. In this article, a numerical simulation of the insertion process of the microneedle into various types of skin modeling is reported using the finite element method. The effective stress failure criterion has been coupled with the element deletion technique to predict the complete insertion process. The numerical results show a good agreement with the reported experimental data for the deformation and failure of the skin and the insertion force.