Development of an MIMPC (Minimally Invasive Microneedles Based Point-of-Care) Device, An Interstitial Fluid Sampling Device Facilitating Efficient Diagnosis of Diseases

Abstract

Traditionally, monitoring biomarkers for disease diagnosis involves analyzing body fluids usually blood which can be invasive and timeconsuming. This necessitates simpler and less invasive methods for sample extraction. Interstitial fluid (ISF), a body fluid near cells could therefore be a desirable alternative to the blood as it correlates with the biomarker content in blood and is present at the surfaces closer to skin. However, its sampling remains challenging due to the skin’s complex structure and limited available volume. In this study, we describe the fabrication and evaluation of a minimally invasive microneedle-based proof-of-concept sampling device for ISF collection. The device is designed to be simple, inexpensive, and easy to use, making it suitable for point-of-care applications. The microneedle array in the device creates micro-channels in phantom skin, facilitating the flow of ISF through it. The collected ISF in two types of analytical grade paper was recovered using different concentrations of extraction solvent and analyzed for detection of biomarkers for diagnosis using different techniques. This needle-based device is also characterized by its ability to penetrate and has been tested on phantom skin through texture analyzer. Further, some electrochemical sensors can be incorporated into the device to enable real-time biomarker detection.