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Characterising the material properties at the interface between skin and a skin vaccination microprojection device

Overview of attention for article published in Acta Biomaterialia, March 2016
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  • Above-average Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (54th percentile)

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Title
Characterising the material properties at the interface between skin and a skin vaccination microprojection device
Published in
Acta Biomaterialia, March 2016
DOI 10.1016/j.actbio.2016.02.039
Pubmed ID
Authors

Michael L. Crichton, Cameron Archer-Jones, Stefano Meliga, Grant Edwards, Darren Martin, Han Huang, Mark A.F. Kendall

Abstract

The rapid emergence of micro-devices for biomedical applications over the past two decades has introduced new challenges for the materials used in the devices. Devices like microneedles and the Nanopatch, require sufficient strength to puncture skin often with sharp-slender micro-scale profiles, while maintaining mechanical integrity. For these technologies we sought to address two important questions: 1) On the scale at which the device operates, what forces are required to puncture the skin? And 2) What loads can the projections/microneedles withstand prior to failure. First, we used custom fabricated nanoindentation micro-probes to puncture skin at the micrometre scale, and show that puncture forces are ∼ 0.25 - 1.75 mN for fresh mouse skin, in agreement with finite element simulations for our device. Then, we used two methods to perform strength tests of Nanopatch projections with varied aspect ratios. The first method used a nanoindenter to apply a force directly on the top or on the side of individual silicon projections (110 μm in length, 10 μm base radius), to measure the force of fracture. Our second method used an Instron to fracture full rows of projections and characterise a range of projection designs (with the method verified against previous nanoindentation experiments). Finally, we used Cryo-Scanning Electron Microscopy to visualise projections in situ in the skin to confirm the behaviour we quantified, qualitatively. Micro-device development has proliferated in the past decade, including devices that interact with tissues for biomedical outcomes. The field of microneedles for vaccine delivery to skin has opened new material challenges both in understanding tissue material properties and device material. In this work we characterise both the biomaterial properties of skin and the material properties of our microprojection vaccine delivery device. This study directly measures the micro-scale puncture properties of skin, whilst demonstrating clearly how these relate to device design. This will be of strong interest to those in the field of biomedical microdevices. This includes work in the field of wearable and semi-implantable devices, which will require clear understanding of tissue behaviour and material characterisation.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 39 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United States 1 3%
Unknown 38 97%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 11 28%
Student > Master 8 21%
Student > Ph. D. Student 5 13%
Student > Bachelor 2 5%
Professor > Associate Professor 2 5%
Other 5 13%
Unknown 6 15%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Engineering 11 28%
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science 3 8%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 2 5%
Nursing and Health Professions 2 5%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 2 5%
Other 10 26%
Unknown 9 23%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 28 August 2021.
All research outputs
#14,277,392
of 25,374,647 outputs
Outputs from Acta Biomaterialia
#2,842
of 4,507 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#142,271
of 313,484 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Acta Biomaterialia
#73
of 101 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,374,647 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,507 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.1. This one is in the 36th percentile – i.e., 36% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 313,484 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 54% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 101 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 27th percentile – i.e., 27% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.