KR101106286B1 - Drug pump and pump system using of electroosmosis - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electroosmotic drug pump, the electrolyte is stored, the driving unit for pumping the drug; A diaphragm disposed between the driving units to separate the driving unit into a first space and a second space; A drug storage unit which is divided into the second space and the soft membrane and stores the drug; At least one microneedle penetrating outward from the drug storage unit and inserted into the skin to inject the drug; Both electrodes inserted into and installed in the first space and the second space; And a power supply unit connected to both electrodes to apply a voltage, wherein the power supply unit has an integrated structure.

Providing the present invention as described above, it is possible to prevent the drug from counting, and stably inject the drug stably, it is easy to install, and easily detachable to any part of the human body has the advantage that the user's convenience is increased have.

Drug Pump, Electroosmosis, Electrophoresis, Micro Needle, Electrolyte

Description

Electroosmotic drug pump and its system {DRUG PUMP AND PUMP SYSTEM USING OF ELECTROOSMOSIS}

The present invention relates to a removable pump for injecting drugs into the human body, and more particularly, to an electroosmotic drug pump capable of injecting drugs in a constant and stable manner.

1 is a diagram showing an isometric view of a conventional applicator for drug administration and a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of 2-2 lines when the applicator is attached to the skin.

As shown in FIG. 1, the applicator 10 consists of an outer cover 12 having a raised portion 14 and an edge 16 along the outer periphery. The applicator 10 may have a convenient shape or dimension such as, for example, rectangular, rectangular, oval, circular, or tailored to a particular area of the skin, which also has a central raised portion of electrophoretic action. It can be seen that the expression and / or electroosmotic devices are laid as described below and have edges along their outer periphery.

In FIG. 2 showing attachment to the surface of the patient's skin 18, it is described that there are several layers in the raised portion 14 of the lid 12. The first layer is a microporous or semipermeable membrane through which the drug flows into the skin 18. As can be seen in the following description, the membrane 22 may not be necessary depending on the type of drug reservoir.

The second layer consists of a flexible pad, a small bag, or other type of reservoir 24 that contains the drug to be administered. As can be seen in the known art and in the above mentioned US patent, reservoir 24 may be an impregnated pad or a small pouch containing the drug in a solution or suspension, the walls of which are lost when the drug is washed. It is dense enough to prevent stiffness, but is porous enough to allow for the injection of a drug of charged particles or ions placed in the sphere of influence of the electric field, for example when used electrophoretically.

For example, it can be seen that an appropriate microporous membrane 22 should be used when the encapsulated drug is counted out as a result of packaging for transport or storage, severe temperature changes, and perforation of the reservoir. In addition, the use of the membrane 22 depends largely on the nature of the drug to be used. As one alternative, the reservoir 24 may be comprised of a porous material impregnated with the medicine rather than a small pouch containing the liquid medicine.

The third or next layer above the reservoir 24 is an extended contact surface 26 that can be used as one side of the cell 28 located in the next layer. The contact surface 26 may be a suitable conductive material, preferably suitable for the human body, to allow the applicator to bend or bend in accordance with the surface shape of the skin. Suitable materials of this type are well known in the art and include electrically conductive polymers, preferably non-ionic polymers.

Carbonized or metallized plastics are used for this purpose. The cell 28, which comprises the next layer, is made up of several cells connected in series to allow a particular drug to produce a suitable voltage for electrophoresis, the orientation of the cell 28 being charged (ionized) It depends on whether the particle is positive or negative.

If the particles are negatively charged in solution or suspension, the contact surface 26 is connected to the negative electrode of the cell 28 and the skin becomes positive with this contact and attracts ions. In electro-osmosis, great flexibility is allowed in the design and structure, for example the pH of the drug solution is not very important because electro-osmosis is a physical phenomenon rather than a chemical phenomenon. Moreover, the solution can be highly concentrated, which is the opposite of the case of ionic solutions where high ionic momentum and low concentrations are desired.

However, it is more difficult to control drug administration in the device which is electroosmotic as a whole. Thus, both forms of drug administration line are considered here. With regard to the battery 28, it should be noted that the conventional refined electric currents currently commonly used may be arranged and used in series to obtain the desired operating voltage. In addition, a technique has now been developed to produce a battery made of a very thin and flexible conductive polymer plate having a relatively large area compared to the thickness in obtaining a suitable current density.

The plates are layered so that the fins are in series, and the effective construction between the number of plates and the surface area of the plates is the layer in the diagonal line schematically shown in FIG. Of course, the choice of cell depends on the desired adaptability, voltage and current density, and the time to be administered, depending on the particular application and administration time. The layer over the cell 28 may be another contact surface 32 similar in structure to the contact surface 26 and electrically connected to the opposite side of the cell 28.

The cover 12 covering all layers of the applicator 10 is made of a flexible conductive plastic material, such as a polymer impregnated with carbon or a plastic coated metal surface. The insulator 34 is filled between the side walls of the raised portion 14 and the various layers involved. The bottom of the edge 16 is covered with an electrically conductive adhesive 36 to provide good electrical conductivity when the applicator or device 10 is attached to the skin 18.

The general arrangement described above is from one side of the cell 28, the lid 12, the adhesive material 36, the skin 18, the microporous membrane 22, the liquid reservoir 24 and the back side 28 of the cell. To more particularly describe the electrical circuit formed by the arrangement just described, reference is made to FIG. 3 where the circuit diagrammatically represents the circuit as a number corresponding to the structure shown in FIGS. .

The battery 28 is connected to the skin 18 through the contact surface 32, the cover 12, and the adhesive layer 36. The other side of the cell 28 is connected to the skin 18 through the contact surface 26, the liquid reservoir 24, and the membrane 22 to form a complete circuit. Resistor Reff is a complete circuit including skin 18, adhesive layer 36, cover 12, cell 28 and their contact points 26 and 32, as well as reservoir 24 and membrane 22, and the like. Indicates effective resistance. In this type of system, one goal is to form a very low and unique rate of current flow, so that the drug is slowly

To be committed. Low current flows, such as 0.0001 amperes per square cm of skin surface under the membrane 22, are one representative current chosen for the applicator of the particular drug. The skin's electrical resistance to current flow is 6-9 kHz and almost independent of the distance between the points of electrical contact.

This is because the electrical resistance of the skin is mainly a resistance to permeation, which is the flow of current through the body's flow material, which has a very low electrical resistance. As such, in order to maintain current flow at the rate indicated by Ohm's law, the total resistance of the circuit using a 1.5 volt cell should be 360K ohm for each square cm of applicator. This resistance of the circuit, i.e. the effective resistance Reff, may be formed of one component or a combination of the components of the circuit shown in FIG. 3, including battery resistance, electrode cover material and the like. Also, if desired, one current limiting device and a portion of conductor 26, or any other portion of the circuit, if considered convenient, may be incorporated to maintain a constant current flow during the operating period.

That is, the prior art is a pump that is directly in contact with the drug storage unit and the skin and injected by the electrophoretic or electroosmotic method by the voltage difference between the skin and the drug storage unit, that is, the contact surface with the skin to the microporous membrane It is a composition which consists of a structure which injects into a skin directly through a microporous membrane.

Such a conventional drug pump is configured to directly inject using electrophoresis or electroosmotic, so that the drug is likely to flow out of the contact surface with the skin, and the constant voltage difference or resistance with the skin may vary from person to person. This difficult, poor reproducibility, and the disadvantage that the injection is difficult due to poor contact, it is necessary to develop a drug pump that is stable, prevents the drug leakage, and can be injected constantly.

The object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to prevent the drug from leaking out, stably inject the drug stably, easy to install, easy to attach to any part of the human body and the convenience of the user To provide an augmented drug pump.

A first aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems is a driving unit for storing the electrolyte, and pumping the drug; A diaphragm disposed between the driving units to separate the driving unit into a first space and a second space; A drug storage unit which is divided into the second space and the soft membrane and stores the drug; At least one microneedle penetrating outward from the drug storage unit and inserted into the skin to inject the drug; Both electrodes inserted into and installed in the first space and the second space; And a power supply unit connected to both electrodes to apply a voltage, wherein the power supply unit has an integrated structure.

Here, the diaphragm is preferably a porous glass slit through which ions pass to form a concentration gradient and to move a solvent or a solution, and the outer membrane of the drug pump is preferably an elastic rubber membrane.

In addition, preferably, the microneedles are manufactured by MEMS technology and may have a diameter of several micro units, the microneedles may be made of silicon, and the microneedles are arranged in a triangular structure consisting of three. It may be. In addition, it is preferable that an adhesive material for adhering to the skin of the human body is attached to the outer membrane surface of the microneedle on the outer surface of the drug storage unit.

In addition, the second aspect of the present invention is a driving unit for storing the electrolyte, and pumping the drug; a diaphragm is installed between the driving unit for separating the driving unit into the first space and the second space; A drug storage unit which is divided into the second space and the soft membrane and stores the drug; At least one microneedle penetrating outward from the drug storage unit and inserted into the skin to inject the drug; And a power supply device which is separated from the drug pump having both electrodes inserted into and installed in the first space and the second space, and which is connected to the electrode to apply a voltage.

Herein, the diaphragm is preferably a porous glass slit through which ions pass to form a concentration gradient, and moves a solvent or a solution. The outer membrane of the drug pump is preferably a rubber membrane made of an elastic material. It is preferable that the diameter is several micro units as manufactured by the technique.

Further preferably, the microneedles may be made of silicon, and the microneedles may be arranged in a triangular structure consisting of three.

Providing the present invention as described above, the drug is prevented from counting out, it is possible to stably inject the drug stably, it is easy to install, and easily detachable to any part of the human body increases the user's convenience.

In addition, the size of the microneedle applied to the present invention is finely made in the size of several micro units, there is no pain when inserted into the skin, the drug can induce a fine injection, it can help the skin attachment structure to be.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a view showing the configuration of an electroosmotic drug pump as an embodiment according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the electroosmotic drug pump includes a driving unit 101 for storing an electrolyte solution and pumping a drug; A diaphragm 103 disposed between the driving units 101 to separate the driving unit 101 into a first space and a second space; A drug storage unit 106 which is divided into the second space and the soft membrane and stores the drug; At least one microneedle 107 which is installed to protrude through the outer membrane of the drug storage unit 106 and is inserted into the skin to inject the drug; Both electrodes 102 and 104 inserted into and installed in the first space and the second space; And a power supply unit connected to both electrodes 102 and 104 to apply a voltage, wherein the power supply unit has an integrated structure.

Here, the driving unit 101 refers to a fluidized bed storing an electrolyte solution, and ions included in the electrolyte move through a voltage applied to the electrodes 102 and 104 installed therein and pump the drug storage unit 106. Electrolyte solution is generally used also as abbreviation of electrolyte solution. When electrolysis is carried out using the membrane 103 of the cathode and the anode, the electrolyte on the cathode side is called catholyte and the anode on the anode side. Since the efficiency of electrolysis is affected by the composition, temperature, hydrogen ion concentration, and the presence or absence of impurities, it is necessary to prepare an electrolyte solution suitable for electrolysis. Ammonium chloride solution or dilute sulfuric acid is often used as the electrolyte.

In the present invention, using the electrode (102,104) accordingly, the drive unit 101 containing the electrolyte solution is separated into two spaces by the diaphragm 103, the ions are moved through the diaphragm 103 to gradient the ion concentration of the solution And the diaphragm 103 (porous glass slit) selectively passes the solvent to increase the volume of the second space according to the gradient of the ion concentration, thereby using the principle of electroosmotic pumping the drug reservoir 106. Apply.

The electroosmotic phenomenon is one of the interfacial dynamics. The liquid is divided into a porous diaphragm 103 and a capillary tube, and the electrodes 102 and 104 are immersed on both sides, and a voltage is applied. The oscillation occurs in the solution as the charge in the interfacial double layer is moved by the electric field at. The direction of movement is determined by the sign of excess charge, and the rate of electric osmosis depends on the intensity of the electric field, the amount of excess charge, the electrolyte concentration, the temperature and the viscosity.

For example, when using silicate gel, sulfur, glass, capillary, earthenware, etc. as a solid, and when using aluminum oxide, water flows in the opposite direction, and in the former case, from the anode to the cathode. This phenomenon can be used for osmosis or dehydration of materials. As described above, the present invention separates the first space and the second space of the driving unit 101 into the diaphragm 103 by using the electroosmotic phenomenon, and induces the movement of the fluid by the concentration gradient according to the movement of ions or charges. The drug storage unit 106 located between the two spaces and the soft membrane is pumped so that the drug can be injected through the microneedle 107 in contact with the skin. That is, the first space, the diaphragm 103, and the second space act as one pumping driver 101 (actuator).

Therefore, the present invention has a diaphragm 103 (porous glass slit) across the middle of the drive fluid through which ions can pass, so that the working fluid is injected with the whole fluid driven unilaterally in only one direction along the direction of the electric field. It is designed to be. In addition, when the drug is exhausted and refilled, it is possible to drive the reciprocating fluid to change the direction of the electric field to return the driving fluid to its original position. Therefore, the porous glass slit diaphragm 103 positioned between the first space and the second space of the driving unit 101 plays an important role.

In addition, the drug flow of the drug storage unit 106 is connected to the microneedle 107 by making a micro-channel in the S-shape in the drug storage unit 106 to maintain a steady state, and secures sufficient channel length. It is desirable to enable a more advanced supply of laminar flow through (not shown).

The microneedle 107 is a structure protruding through the outer membrane of the drug storage unit 106, the drug stored in the drug storage unit 106 is injected into the skin through the microneedle by pumping. The size of the microneedle 107 is finely made to a size of several micro units, there is no pain when inserted into the skin, the drug can induce a fine injection, it is a structure that can help the skin attachment.

Conventionally, the reason why the injection needle is used is for the purpose of bleeding blood for the diagnosis of blood glucose, and it is aimed at the size of the syringe needle (at least several hundred micrometers), which is widely used in the present invention. (Microelectromechanical system) The introduction of the microneedle 107 (a few micrometers in diameter) made of silicon made by a manufacturing technology allows the microneedle 107 of the micro form 107 which is painless to the patient due to body attachment and implantation. To replace the needle. In addition, it is preferable to use three microneedles 107 manufactured and attached to the drug storage unit 106 to have a symmetrical triangular structure to prevent movement during wearing.

In order to cause the electroosmotic phenomenon, a power source for applying a voltage to the electrodes 102 and 104 inserted into the first space and the second space is required, and the battery is disposed on the front surface of the first space, that is, the surface opposite to the surface on which the microneedle 107 is installed. A power supply unit consisting of a 115 and an electrode connecting portion 116 is provided. The electrode connection part 116 and the electrodes 102 and 104 of the power supply unit may be connected to each other by being installed on the outer surface or the inside of the conductive wire to form an integrated structure of the electroosmotic drug pump. The integrated structure has a great advantage in that the user's convenience is increased and the structure can be easily attached or attached to any part of the human body. In addition, there is an advantage that the user can easily carry the device due to the miniaturization, and the device can be easily managed.

And the outer wall 105 of the drug pump of the present invention is preferably made of a soft plastic rubber material. This is because the flow of the drug or working fluid is made naturally, and the reason for smoothing the pumping of the drug in the drive unit 101, and because the soft material required for the attachment of the human body.

3 is a view illustrating the configuration of an electroosmotic drug injection pump as another embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the invention is illustrated by separating the pump and the power supply unit for injecting drugs. The pump system of the present invention includes a drive unit 101 for storing an electrolyte solution and pumping drugs; a diaphragm 103 installed between the drive units 101 to separate the drive unit 101 into a first space and a second space; A drug storage unit 106 which is divided into the second space and the soft membrane and stores the drug; At least one microneedle 107 which is installed to protrude through the outer membrane of the drug storage unit 106 and is inserted into the skin to inject the drug; And a power supply device that is separated from the drug pump having both electrodes 102 and 104 inserted into and installed in the first space and the second space, and is connected to the electrodes 102 and 104 to apply a voltage. do.

In the invention illustrated in FIG. 3, as in the invention illustrated in FIG. 2, the electrolyte is stored in the driving unit 101, and voltages are applied to the electrodes 102 and 104 provided in the first and second spaces of the driving unit 101. When is applied, the ions of the electrolyte in the first space is moved through the diaphragm 103 (porous glass slit), the ion concentration gradient is formed by the movement of ions, the ion concentration gradient is the movement of the solvent or solution To form a structure in which electroosmosis occurs. When the solvent or the solution is introduced into the second space, the volume of the second space is increased to act as a driving unit 101 (actuator) to pressurize and pump the drug storage unit connected to the soft membrane.

In the invention illustrated in FIG. 3, the power supply device and the pump are formed in a separated form to form a structure in which the power supply unit and the pump are connected to the electrodes 102 and 104 installed in the power supply unit and the pump. Here, the power device is composed of a case 110, a battery 113 and the electrode connecting portion (111, 112). This structure, unlike the integrated structure, is suitable when the size of the power supply is large, so that it is not easy to form the integrated structure, it is required to be used continuously for a long time, or the pump size needs to be large as a whole.

And, another advantage is that unlike the integrated structure, by separating from the power supply, the pump can be further miniaturized to facilitate the installation in all parts of the human body, the device that can be injected with drugs with a timer or various programs Has the advantage of adding to the power supply. Since the rest of the configuration is the same as the invention illustrated in FIG. 3 described above, a description thereof will be omitted.

4 is a view showing various examples of the arrangement structure of the microneedle 107 of the electroosmotic drug injection pump according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, when one microneedle 107 is disposed at the center of the outer membrane of the drug storage unit 106 (FIG. 4A), a triangular structure forming a minimum plane is formed. It is possible to form a structure (Fig. 4 (b)), a quadrangular structure (Fig. 4 (c)) and a four-sided structure (Fig. 4 (d)) including a center. In addition, it can be formed in a variety of ways depending on the amount of drug and the structure of the drug pump.

Here, the triangular structure illustrated in (b) of FIG. 4 is a minimal arrangement structure planarized by three points, and can be stably attached to the skin through the triangular structure of the three microneedles 107. In addition to the advantages, it is possible to increase the production cost and efficiency at the same time as an array structure having a stable minimum number of needles. In addition, the adhesive layer 126 may be applied to the outer membrane of the drug storage unit 106 to facilitate adhesion to the skin, or an adhesive layer may be formed to stably adhere to the skin by adhesion with an adhesive together with the insertion of the microneedle. It becomes possible.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

1 is a view showing an isometric view of the applicator for conventional drug administration,

2 is a view showing the configuration of an electroosmotic drug pump as an embodiment according to the present invention;

3 is a view illustrating the configuration of an electroosmotic drug injection pump as another embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a view showing various examples of the arrangement structure of the microneedle of the electroosmotic drug injection pump according to the present invention.

<Detailed Description of Drawings>

101: driving unit, 102, 104: electrode, 103: diaphragm, 105: soft membrane

106: drug reservoir, 107: microneedle, 113,115: battery

111, 112, 116: electrode connection

Claims (13)

A driving unit for storing an electrolyte and pumping a drug; A porous glass slit diaphragm installed between the driving units to separate the driving unit into a first space and a second space, and to pass ions to form a concentration gradient to move a solvent or a solution; A drug storage unit which is divided into the second space and the soft membrane and stores the drug; At least one microneedle installed to protrude through the outer membrane of the drug storage unit and inserted into the skin to hold the drug; Both electrodes inserted into and installed in the first space and the second space; And A power supply unit connected to both electrodes to apply a voltage, An electroosmotic drug pump, characterized in that the unitary structure. delete The method of claim 1, The outer membrane of the drug pump is an electroosmotic drug pump, characterized in that the rubber membrane of elastic material. The method of claim 1, The microneedle is manufactured by a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology, the electroosmotic drug pump, characterized in that 1 to 100 microns in diameter. 5. The method of claim 4, The microneedle is an electroosmotic drug pump, characterized in that made of silicon. The method of claim 5, The microneedle is an electroosmotic drug pump, characterized in that arranged in a triangular structure consisting of three. The method of claim 1, An electroosmotic drug pump, characterized in that an adhesive material for adhering to the skin of the human body is attached to the outer membrane surface of the microneedles to the outer surface of the drug storage unit. A driving unit for storing an electrolyte and pumping a drug; A porous glass slit diaphragm installed between the driving units to separate the driving unit into a first space and a second space, and to pass ions to form a concentration gradient to move a solvent or a solution; A drug storage unit which is divided into the second space and the soft membrane and stores the drug; At least one microneedle installed to protrude through the outer membrane of the drug storage unit and inserted into the skin to hold the drug; A drug pump having both electrodes inserted into and installed in the first space and the second space; And An electroosmotic drug pump device, comprising: a power supply separated from the drug pump and connected to the electrode to apply a voltage. delete The method of claim 8, The outer membrane of the drug pump is an electroosmotic drug pump device, characterized in that the rubber membrane. The method of claim 8, The microneedle is manufactured by a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology, the electroosmotic drug pump device, characterized in that 1 to 100 microns in diameter. The method of claim 11, The microneedle is an electroosmotic drug pump device, characterized in that the silicon material. The method of claim 12, The microneedle is an electroosmotic drug pump device, characterized in that arranged in a triangular structure consisting of three.

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