Patent ID: 6451240
Filing Date: 2002-09-17
Classification: A61M,B26F,B29C,B29L,B81B,B81C

Abstract:
A method of preparing a mold for manufacturing a microneedle array, comprising:providing a photoresist material, in contact with a temporary substrate; placing a mask layer upon said photoresist material, said mask layer having a predetermined pattern, at least a portion of said mask layer comprising a material that prevents high energy radiation from passing therethrough; exposing said combination photoresist material/mask layer to high energy radiation; removing said mask layer, and chemically developing exposed portions of said photo-resist material, thereby removing portions of the photoresist material and leaving behind a pattern of said photoresist material that represents a three-dimensional structure emulating a plurality of microneedles that are to be later formed; electroplating said patterned photoresist material with a metallic substance; and detaching said metallic substance from said patterned photoresist material, said metallic substance thereby forming a microneedle array mold; wherein said mask layer comprises gold.