JP2012217653A - Microneedle, microneedle array, and method for manufacturing the microneedle array - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microneedle capable of being easily stuck into the skin, capable of securely feeding a sufficient amount of medicaments into the skin, and capable of being easily manufactured.SOLUTION: The microneedle includes a needle body with a pointed shape, a flat medicament applied surface disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the needle body, and a medicament holding part extended and formed in a direction orthogonally crossing the medicament applied surface in such a state as opened to the medicament applied surface, and provided in such a way that the area of the opening is tapered toward the tip of the needle body. The microneedle is characterized by being injection-molded from resin as the raw material.

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a microneedle, a microneedle array, and a microneedle array manufacturing method that perform injection by piercing the skin, and in particular, a microneedle can be easily inserted into the skin and a sufficient amount of medicine It is related with what was devised so that it can be reliably sent in skin and can be manufactured easily.

Conventionally, when a drug is administered using a microneedle, a microneedle coated or coated with a drug on the surface is pierced into the skin, and the drug is permeated and absorbed into the skin.

However, the amount of drug that can be applied to or coated on the surface of the microneedle is limited. Therefore, it has been difficult to administer a sufficient amount of drug with such a microneedle.
Therefore, it has been considered to administer a sufficient amount of drug using a cusp-type skin insertion microneedle as disclosed in Patent Document 1. This involves impregnating a fine needle formed from hyaluronic acid or the like, which is a soluble material in the skin, or holding a microcapsule containing the drug or drug in a hole or depression provided in the fine needle. is there.

JP 2008-279237 A

The conventional configuration has the following problems.
That is, since the fine needle described in Patent Document 1 is composed of hyaluronic acid or the like that is a soluble material in the skin, it does not have sufficient strength. Therefore, when the needle is pierced, the fine needle may be damaged, and drug administration may not be performed correctly.
Moreover, since the fine needle described in Patent Document 1 is a skin-soluble material that can contain a drug, processing conditions, shapes, and the like are limited. For example, since the fine needle described in Patent Document 1 is manufactured by cutting, time and labor are required for its manufacture. Therefore, it is difficult to manufacture a fine needle with a sharp shape that is easy to be pierced into the skin while mass-producing on the premise of disposable.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of such points, and the purpose thereof is to allow drug administration without inadvertently damaging the fine needle when piercing the skin, An object of the present invention is to provide a microneedle, a microneedle array, and a microneedle array manufacturing method that can be mass-produced on the premise of disposable without limiting processing conditions, shapes, and the like.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the microneedle described in claim 1 includes a needle body having a pointed shape, a planar drug application surface provided on an outer peripheral surface of the needle body, and the drug application. A drug holding portion that is extended and formed in a direction perpendicular to the drug application surface in a state of being open to the surface and is provided so that the opening area becomes smaller toward the tip of the needle body, and a resin as a raw material It is characterized by being molded by the injection molding method.
In order to solve the above problem, the microneedle described in claim 2 is the microneedle according to claim 1, wherein the medicine holding portion is a plurality of micro holes, a plurality of micro through holes, or a plurality of micro grooves. It is a feature.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a microneedle array according to claim 3 is characterized in that a plurality of microneedles according to claim 1 or claim 2 are provided in series.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microneedle array manufacturing method for manufacturing the microneedle array according to the third aspect, wherein an upper mold and a lower mold are used, and the upper mold is used. Alternatively, the lower mold is formed with a recess in which the axial direction of the microneedle is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the pulling direction of the upper mold and the lower mold, and the upper mold and the lower mold are used. It is characterized by being manufactured by injection molding.

As described above, the microneedle according to claim 1 is formed by an injection molding method using a resin, for example, a resin having biocompatibility and biodegradability such as polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid as a raw material. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a microneedle that is not inadvertently damaged when piercing the skin.
The microneedle according to claim 1 is formed by an injection molding method using a resin, for example, a resin having biocompatibility and biodegradability such as polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid as a raw material. It is possible to easily and mass-produce a fine structure having a holding portion and having a shape that is easy to pierce the skin. This is extremely effective in providing an inexpensive microneedle premised on disposable.
A planar drug application surface provided on the outer peripheral surface of the needle body; and a drug holding portion that is extended and formed in a direction orthogonal to the drug application surface in a state of being open to the drug application surface. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently hold a necessary amount of drug and efficiently administer it. In particular, since the medicine holding portion is provided so that the opening area becomes smaller toward the tip of the needle body, the area occupied by the medicine holding portion on the medicine application surface of the needle body should be sufficient. Thereby, it is possible to efficiently hold and administer the drug.
The microneedle described in claim 2 is provided with a plurality of micro holes, a plurality of micro through holes, or a plurality of micro grooves as the drug holding portion, so that the amount of the drug can be controlled. This makes it possible to hold the required amount of drug and efficiently administer it.
In addition, since the microneedle array described in claim 3 is the one in which a plurality of the microneedles described in claim 1 or 2 is continuously provided, the above effect can be ensured, for example, Improvements such as changing the type of medicine for each microneedle can be achieved.
A microneedle array manufacturing method according to claim 4 is the microneedle array manufacturing method for manufacturing the microneedle array according to claim 3, wherein an upper die and a lower die are used, and the upper die or the lower die is used. Has a recess in which the axial direction of the microneedle is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the punching direction of the upper mold and the lower mold, and is manufactured by injection molding using the upper mold and the lower mold. Because it is configured to do so, there is no need to consider missing molds. Therefore, the microneedle which has a high degree of freedom in design and is provided with drug holding portions of various shapes and sizes and can more reliably hold and administer the drug can be easily manufactured.
In addition, by using such a mold, a microneedle array having microneedles having a large aspect ratio, an extremely sharp shape that is easy to pierce can be easily manufactured.
In addition, since the injection molding method is adopted, an inexpensive microneedle array premised on disposable can be mass-produced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 1 (a) is the perspective view which looked at the microneedle array element by this embodiment from the chemical | medical agent application surface side, FIG.1 (b) is this Embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the microneedle array element by to the anti-drug application surface side. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2A is an enlarged plan view of an end portion of a microneedle array element according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a micro view according to this embodiment. The front view which expanded the edge part of a needle array element, FIG.2 (c) is the right view of the microneedle array element by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention, and is a perspective view which shows the microneedle array to which the several microneedle array element was connected. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention, and is a perspective view which shows the upper mold | type and lower mold | type used for manufacture of the microneedle array element by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention, and is VV sectional drawing in FIG. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is an enlarged front view of the vicinity of the microneedles of the microneedle array element according to the present embodiment, and FIG. It is the side view which expanded the microneedle vicinity of the microneedle array element by a form. FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7A is an enlarged front view of the vicinity of the microneedles of the microneedle array element according to the present embodiment, and FIG. It is the side view which expanded the microneedle vicinity of the microneedle array element by a form. FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8A is an enlarged front view of the vicinity of the microneedles of the microneedle array element according to the present embodiment, and FIG. It is the side view which expanded the microneedle vicinity of the microneedle array element by a form.

The microneedle array element and the microneedle array according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
In the microneedle array element 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 1 (b), and 2 (a) to 2 (c), first, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped support is provided. There is part 3. One connecting hole 3a is drilled in each of the left and right ends (both ends in the left and right direction in FIG. 2B) of one surface of the support portion 3 (the left surface in FIG. 2C). Further, at the left and right ends (the left and right ends in FIG. 2B) of the other surface of the support portion 3 (the right side surface in FIG. 2C), there are 1 connection bosses 3b corresponding to the connection holes 3a. Projected and formed one by one.

  From the upper surface of the support portion 3 (the upper surface in FIG. 2B), five base portions 5 are projected and formed. The base part 5 has a shape obtained by equally dividing a substantially circular cylinder into two parts, and the divided surface is continuous with one surface of the support part 3.

A microneedle 7 is projected and formed from the upper surface (the upper surface in FIG. 2B) of each of the base portions 5. The microneedle 7 includes a needle body 7a having a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape that is equally divided into two. The divided surface is a drug application surface 7 b and is continuous with one surface of the support portion 3 and the divided surface of the base portion 5.
The needle body 7a is provided with a medicine holding portion 7d. The drug holding part 7d is composed of a plurality (9 in the present embodiment) of recesses 7c opened in the drug application surface 7b. The recess 7c has a cylindrical shape, and the axial direction of the cylinder is orthogonal to the drug application surface 7b, and the bottom surface of the recess 7c is parallel to the drug application surface 7b. The diameters of the recesses 7c are set to be substantially the same. Further, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the distance from the base side of the needle body 7a (lower side in FIG. 2 (b)) toward the distal end side (upper side in FIG. 2 (b)) of the needle body 7a increases. The number of the concave portions 7c is reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the depth of the concave portion 7c at the center of the row on the most base side (lower side in FIG. 2B) of the needle body 7a is the deepest. Yes.
In addition, among the recesses 7c, those at the left and right ends of the most proximal side row of the needle body 7a are shallower than those at the center of this row.
Of the recesses 7c, the depth of the most distal side (upper side in FIG. 2B) from the second row from the base side of the needle body 7a is the base side of the needle body 7a (FIG. 2). It is set to become shallower from (b) middle lower side toward the distal end side (upper middle side in FIG. 2B) of the needle body 7a.

As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the number of the concave portions 7c constituting the medicine holding portion 7d is three, two, in order from the base side (lower side in FIG. 2 (b)), Two, one, and one. In this case, two rows of the recesses 7c are continuous, and two rows of the recesses 7c are continuous. Such a configuration is also described in claim 1 of the present application. It is included in the configuration in which the opening area is provided so as to become smaller toward the tip of the needle body.
Further, the number and size of the concave portions 7c constituting the medicine holding portion 7d are set according to the amount of medicine to be administered and the like.
It is also conceivable to hold different types of drugs in each of the microneedles 7.

The microneedle array element 1 can be used alone as a microneedle array, but a plurality of the microneedle array elements 1 are connected by press-fitting the connecting bosses 3b and 3b into the connecting holes 3a and 3a. However, it can also be used as a microneedle array 8 as shown in FIG.
When such a microneedle array 8 is used, a drug can be administered over a wider range. In addition, the amount of drug that can be administered can be increased. Moreover, when holding each kind of said microneedle 7 a different kind of chemical | medical agent, the kind can be increased.
The microneedle array in claim 3 includes the microneedle array element 1 as well as the microneedle array 8.

Next, the operation of the microneedle array element 1 and the microneedle array 8 according to the present embodiment will be described.
The administration of the drug by the microneedle array element 1 is performed as follows.
First, the microneedle 7 is immersed in, for example, a liquid medicine (hereinafter, chemical liquid). Then, the chemical solution enters the inside of the drug holding portion 7d. Thereafter, when the microneedle 7 is pulled up from the drug solution, the drug solution is held in the drug holding part 7d and the drug solution is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the needle body 7a, in particular, the drug application surface 7b. The chemical solution adheres to the surface tension of the chemical solution. The chemical solution is likely to adhere to the drug application surface 7b because the chemical solution attached to the drug application surface 7b is integrated with the drug solution held in the drug holding portion 7d and is held in the drug holding portion 7d by surface tension. It is because it is held together with the chemical solution.

In addition, the microneedle array 8 is a method of holding a chemical solution. The microneedle array element 1 is connected before the chemical solution is held and the microneedle array 8 is configured to hold the chemical solution. A method is conceivable in which the microneedle array 8 is configured by connecting the microneedle array elements 1 holding a chemical solution.

Then, when the microneedle 7 holding the drug solution in this manner is pierced into the patient's skin, the drug held in the drug holding part 7d, the drug application surface 7b, etc. is administered subcutaneously to the patient. Become. The microneedle array element 1 according to the present embodiment can be used for other purposes besides injection of a chemical solution. That is, the tissue, the substance in the skin, and the like can be collected in the drug holding part 7d by puncturing the skin with the microneedle 7 without filling the drug solution.

Next, a manufacturing method of the microneedle array element 1 will be described.
The microneedle array element 1 is manufactured, for example, by molding a biocompatible and biodegradable resin such as polylactic acid or polyglycolic acid by injection molding. For the injection molding, an upper die 9 and a lower die 11 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are used.
The upper mold 9 includes a concave portion having a shape corresponding to the support body 3, the connecting boss 3 b, the base section 5, and the needle body 7 a of the microneedle 7 among the constituent elements of the microneedle array element 1. 9a is provided. As for the said upper mold | type 9, as shown in FIG. 5, the axial direction of the part corresponding to the said needle body 7a of the said recessed part 9a is orthogonal to the extraction direction (up-down direction in FIG. 5) of the said upper mold | type 9 and the lower mold | type 11. It is formed so as to be directed in the direction (left and right direction in FIG. 5).

The lower mold 11 is used together with the upper mold 9, and among the constituent elements of the microneedle array element 1, a protrusion 11a corresponding to the connecting hole 3a and a plurality of protrusions 11b corresponding to the medicine holding portion 7d. Is protruding and formed.
As shown in FIG. 5, the protrusion 11 a and the protrusion 11 b are formed so as to be oriented in the extraction direction of the upper mold 9 and the lower mold 11 (vertical direction in FIG. 5).
Further, the mating surfaces of the upper mold 9 and the lower mold 11 are the drug application surface 7b of the microneedle array element 1 to be molded, the one surface of the support portion 3, and the dividing surface of the base portion. Is consistent with

The microneedle array element 1 is molded by an injection molding method using the upper mold 9 and the lower mold 11. At this time, it is not necessary to consider so much the omission of the upper mold 9 and the lower mold 11. This is because the upper die 9 is formed with a recess 9a in which the axial direction of the portion corresponding to the microneedle 7 is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the removal direction of the upper die 9 and the lower die 11. This is because the lower mold 11 is formed with the protrusions 11a and the protrusions 11b so as to be oriented in the pulling direction of the upper mold 9 and the lower mold 11. Therefore, the upper mold 9 and the lower mold 11 can be removed without being caught from the molded microneedle array element 1 after molding.
Therefore, the microneedle array element 1 can be easily mass-produced by an injection molding method.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, the microneedle array element 1 according to the present embodiment is manufactured by molding a biocompatible and biodegradable resin such as polylactic acid or polyglycolic acid by an injection molding method. On the other hand, the microneedle array element 1 having the microneedles 7 that are not easily damaged when pierced can be obtained.
Further, the microneedle array element 1 is formed by an injection molding method using a biocompatible and biodegradable resin such as polylactic acid or polyglycolic acid as a raw material. The microneedles 7 having a fine structure and a shape that can easily be pierced into the skin can be easily and mass-produced. This is extremely effective in providing a large amount of the microneedle array element 1 that is assumed to be disposable.
In particular, the upper die 9 used for manufacturing the microneedle array element 1 has a recess 9a in which the axial direction of the microneedle 7 is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the extraction direction of the upper die 9 and the lower die 11. The lower mold 11 is provided with a protrusion 11b corresponding to the medicine holding portion 7d and a protrusion 11a corresponding to the connecting hole 3a projecting in the pulling direction of the upper mold 9 and the lower mold 11. Therefore, it is not necessary to consider the omission of the mold during manufacturing. Therefore, by using the upper mold 9 and the lower mold 11 as described above, for example, as compared with the case of using a conventional cutting process, the processing conditions, the shape, and the like are not limited, and the design is free. The degree becomes higher. Therefore, it is possible to easily manufacture the microneedle array element 1 having the microneedles 7 having a large aspect ratio, an extremely sharp shape that is easy to stick, and provided with the drug holding portion 7d.

In addition, since the microneedle array element 1 includes the drug holding portion 7d including a plurality of recesses 7c, the amount of the drug solution can be easily controlled. That is, by adjusting the number of the concave portions 7c or adjusting the number of the concave portions 7c for holding the chemical liquid, the amount of the chemical liquid to be held can be adjusted, thereby reducing the amount of the chemical liquid to be administered. It can be easily controlled.
Further, in the microneedle 7, since the drug holding portion 7d is a recess opened in the drug application surface 7b, the drug can be efficiently administered to the drug application surface 7b side.
In addition, due to the surface tension, the drug solution can be efficiently held on the drug holding part 7d and the drug application surface 7b.
Further, the number of the concave portions 7c constituting the medicine holding portion 7d is from the base side of the needle body 7a (lower side in FIG. 2B) to the distal end side of the needle body 7a (upper side in FIG. 2B). It is configured to decrease as it goes to. That is, many concave portions 7c are provided on the wide base side, and few concave portions 7c are provided on the narrow distal end side, and the concave portions are formed in as wide an area as possible by effectively using the area of the drug application surface 7b. Since it is configured to provide 7c, it is possible to efficiently hold and administer the drug.
Moreover, the microneedle array element 1 according to the present embodiment can be used for other purposes besides injection of a chemical solution. For example, tissue or skin substance can be collected in the drug holding part 7d by piercing the skin without pulling out the drug solution in the recess 7c of the drug holding part 7d.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The microneedle array element 13 according to the present embodiment also has substantially the same configuration as the microneedle array element 1 according to the first embodiment described above, and is used by the same usage method and manufactured by the same manufacturing method. It is what is done.

As shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the needle body 15a of the microneedle 15 of the microneedle array element 13 according to the present embodiment is also composed of a drug application surface 15b and a plurality of through holes 15c. A medicine holding unit 15d is provided.
The medicine holding part 15d in the present embodiment is configured by three through holes 15c that penetrate the needle body 15a. As shown in FIG. 6 (a), the through hole 15c is arranged from the base side (lower side in FIG. 6 (a)) to the distal end side (upper side in FIG. 6 (a)) of the needle body 15a. The diameter of the through hole 15c provided on the base side (the lower side in FIG. 6A) of the needle body 15a is larger, and the tip side of the needle body 15a (the upper side in FIG. 6A). The diameter of the through-hole 15c provided in the above is reduced.

When the microneedle 15 is immersed in the chemical solution, the chemical solution is held in the drug holding portion 15d by the surface tension. Moreover, the said chemical | medical solution is also hold | maintained also at the outer peripheral surface of the said needle body 15a, or the said chemical | medical agent application surface 15b.
And the said chemical | medical solution can be administered to a patient by piercing the said microneedle 15 with respect to a patient's skin.

  Also in this embodiment, the same effect as in the case of the first embodiment described above can be obtained. In particular, since the medicine holding part 15d is composed of the three through holes 15c, 15c, 15c, not only the medicine holding part 15d and the medicine application surface 15b but also the anti-drug application surface of the medicine holding part 15d. The chemical solution is also retained by the surface tension near the opening on the 15b side, and efficient retention and administration of the chemical solution is possible.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The microneedle array element 17 according to the present embodiment also has substantially the same configuration as the microneedle array element 1 according to the first embodiment described above, and is used by the same usage method and manufactured by the same manufacturing method. It is what is done.

As shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the needle 19a of the microneedle 19 of the microneedle array element 17 according to the present embodiment is also provided with a drug application surface 19b. A medicine holding portion 19c opened at 19b is provided.
The medicine holding part 19c is a concave part having a large substantially trapezoidal opening on the medicine application surface 19b. The medicine holding portion 19c has a large width (length in the left-right direction in FIG. 7A) and depth on the base side (lower side in FIG. 7A) of the needle body 19a, and the tip of the needle body 19a. The width and the depth are reduced toward the side (upper side in FIG. 7A).
The bottom surface of the medicine holding part 19c is inclined along the bottom surface of the needle body 19a, and the cross-sectional shape of the medicine holding part 19c is substantially triangular.

When the microneedle 19 is immersed in the chemical solution, the chemical solution is held in the drug holding portion 19c by the surface tension. Moreover, the said chemical | medical solution is also hold | maintained also at the outer peripheral surface of the said needle body 19a, or the said chemical | medical agent application surface 19b.
And the said chemical | medical solution can be administered to a patient by piercing the said microneedle 19 with respect to a patient's skin.
In the case of the present embodiment, it is also possible to hold a solid drug in the drug holding part 19c.

  Also in this embodiment, the same effect as in the case of the first embodiment described above can be obtained. Further, since the medicine holding portion 19c is a recess having a large substantially trapezoidal opening on the medicine application surface 19b, not only a liquid medicine but also a solid medicine can be held and administered.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The microneedle array element 21 according to the present embodiment also has substantially the same configuration as the microneedle array element 1 according to the first embodiment described above, and is used by the same usage method and manufactured by the same manufacturing method. It is what is done.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a drug application surface 23b is also provided on the needle body 23a of the microneedle 23 of the microneedle array element 21 according to the present embodiment. Then, four grooves are formed in the medicine application surface 23b so as to extend in the horizontal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 8A) and are arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction (up and down direction in FIG. 8A). The medicine holding part 23d comprised from the shape-shaped recessed part 23c is provided.
The width of each concave portion 23c constituting the medicine holding portion 23d is closer to the base portion (lower side in FIG. 8A) of the needle body 23a (the length in the horizontal direction in FIG. 8A) and depth. Is larger, and the width (length in the left-right direction in FIG. 8A) and depth are smaller at the tip side (upper side in FIG. 8A). .
Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), the bottom surface of the recess 23c has a shape inclined according to the outer peripheral surface of the needle body 23a, and its cross-sectional shape is substantially pentagonal. It has become.

When the microneedle 23 is immersed in the chemical solution, the chemical solution is held in the drug holding portion 23d by the surface tension. Moreover, the said chemical | medical solution is hold | maintained also on the outer peripheral surface of the said needle body 23a, or the said chemical | medical agent application surface 23b.
And the said chemical | medical solution can be administered to a patient by piercing the said microneedle 23 with respect to a patient's skin.
Further, in the case where the number of the concave portions 23c constituting the medicine holding portion 23d and the position in the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8A) are adjusted according to the depth at which the microneedle 23 is inserted into the patient. There is.
It is also conceivable to fill and apply a chemical solution to any of the recesses 23c according to the depth at which the needle is inserted.
Further, when the microneedle 23 is punctured into the skin without filling the medicine, the tissue, the substance in the skin, and the like can be collected in the medicine holding portion 23d, and the puncture depth can be obtained from the collected material. It is also possible to perform the determination of the substance and the component analysis of the substance.

  Also in this embodiment, the same effect as in the case of the first embodiment described above can be obtained. Further, the number of the concave portions 23c constituting the medicine holding portion 23d and the position in the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8A) are adjusted according to the depth at which the microneedle 23 is inserted into the patient. By filling / applying a drug solution to any of the recesses 23c, it is possible to administer a drug that is more effective according to the mode of use.

The present invention is not limited to the first to fourth embodiments.
For example, the shape, size, and number of the microneedles, the drug holding unit, and the recesses that form the drug holding unit may be various depending on the usage mode such as the dose of the drug.
In addition, various materials can be considered for forming the microneedle array element and the microneedle array. For example, it is also possible to use a resin such as polycarbonate or acrylic. It is also conceivable to use biocompatible materials such as other biodegradable resins.
In the above embodiment, the drug solution is held by the surface tension of the drug holding part or the like of the microneedle. However, it may be possible to coat the drug on the surface of the microneedle. It is also conceivable to fill the medicine holding part with a solid or powdery medicine or insert a microcapsule type medicine.

  The present invention relates to a microneedle, a microneedle array, and a method for manufacturing a microneedle array. In particular, the microneedle can be easily pierced into the skin, and a sufficient amount of drug can be reliably fed into the skin. It is suitable for a microneedle array used for transdermal administration of drugs, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microneedle array element 7 Microneedle 7a Needle body 7b Drug application surface 7d Drug holding part 8 Microneedle array 9 Upper mold | type 9a Recessed part 11 Lower mold 13 Microneedle array element 15 Microneedle 15a Needle body 15b Drug application surface 15d Drug holding part 17 Microneedle array element 19 Microneedle 19a Needle body 19b Drug application surface 19c Drug holding portion 21 Microneedle array element 23 Microneedle 23a Needle body 23b Drug application surface 23d Drug holding portion

Claims (4)

A needle having a pointed shape;
A planar drug application surface provided on the outer peripheral surface of the needle body;
A drug holding portion that is extended and formed in a direction orthogonal to the drug application surface in a state of opening to the drug application surface, and is provided so that the opening area decreases toward the tip of the needle body;
Comprising
A microneedle formed by an injection molding method using a resin as a raw material. The microneedle according to claim 1, wherein
The microneedle, wherein the medicine holding part is a plurality of minute holes, a plurality of minute through holes, or a plurality of minute grooves. A microneedle array comprising a plurality of the microneedles according to claim 1 or 2 arranged in series. In the microneedle array manufacturing method which manufactures the microneedle array of Claim 3,
Use upper and lower molds,
The upper mold or the lower mold is formed with a recess such that the axial direction of the microneedle is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the extraction direction of the upper mold and the lower mold,
A method of manufacturing a microneedle array, wherein the upper mold and the lower mold are used for manufacturing by injection molding.

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