Trends in drug-delivery-system microfabrication and a new scalable technology using x-ray synchrotron irradiation

Drug delivery system (DDS) is concerned with targeting drugs to specific cells. To achieve bioavailability various biodegradable polymers are commonly utilized as particulate drug carriers. Common methods of fabricating biodegradable polymeric microdevices include various replication techniques, laser micromachining, and microfluidic fabrication methods. This paper reviews state-of-the-art nano and microfabrication techniques used for DDS, and presents a novel method using x-ray synchrotron for accurate and efficient micro-patterning. This x-ray lithography based micromachining is very scalable and is suitable for inexpensive and repeatable mass production.