LIQUID CRYSTALLINE POLYMER MICRONEEDLES
Thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer microneedles ( 100 ) are described.
1 . A device comprising a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer microneedle.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the microneedle comprises mesogens that are molecularly aligned by an anisotropy factor in the range of from greater than 0.3 up to 1.0.
3 . The device of claim 1 further comprising a base, wherein the microneedle is integral with and protrudes from the base, further wherein at least a portion of the mesogens are flow aligned.
4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein at least about 30% of the mesogens are flow aligned.
5 . The device of claim 2 , wherein at least about 10% of the mesogens are flow aligned, with the remainder of the mesogens having a relatively isotropic orientation state.
6 . The device of claim 1 wherein the microneedle comprises a tip and a base, and wherein the microneedle has a bending moment as measured at 15% of the distance from the tip to the base of from 30,000 to 60,000 mN-μm.
7 . The device of claim 1 wherein the microneedle comprises a tip and a base, and wherein the microneedle has a bending moment as measured at 60% of the distance from the tip to the base of from 85,000 to 105,000 mN-μm.
8 . The device of claim 1 wherein the microneedle has a buckling force of from 0.2 to 0.5 N.
9 . The device of claim 2 wherein the molecularly aligned mesogen-containing area of the microneedle has an elastic modulus of from 6 to 8 Gpa.
10 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the microneedle further comprises an area where the mesogens are substantially isotropic.
11 . The device of claim 10 wherein the isotropic area has an elastic modulus of from 4 to 6 Gpa.
12 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the microneedle has a Hermans orientation function value of from 0.4 to 0.8.
13 . The device of claim 1 wherein the thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer is a main chain thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer microneedle.
14 . The device of claim 1 wherein the thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer is a main chain polyester thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer microneedle.
15 . A device comprising an array of liquid crystalline polymer microneedles wherein the microneedles have a depth of penetration of from 50 to 120 microns using 2 pounds of force for 10 seconds.
16 . A device comprising an array of liquid crystalline polymer microneedles wherein the microneedles have a depth of penetration of from 50 to 150 microns using 3 pounds of force for 10 seconds.
17 . A device comprising an array of liquid crystalline polymer microneedles wherein the microneedles have a penetration efficiency of 70% or higher using 3 pounds of force for 10 seconds.