Queen's University Belfast scientists receive international recognition for research on microneedles

Scientists from Queen's University Belfast, whose research into microneedles is taking the pain out of injections, have received international recognition from one of the world's leading pharmaceutical science journals.

The team from the School of Pharmacy at Queen's have received the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Pharmaceutical Research Meritorious Manuscript Award.

The award recognises outstanding achievement in the pharmaceutical sciences, as demonstrated by the author, in the quality and originality of a manuscript published in the official AAPS journal, Pharmaceutical Research.

It is the latest award for Dr Ryan Donnelly and his team whose breakthrough research has developed tiny projections which can painlessly penetrate the outer layer of the skin and can be used to deliver medication or to monitor the level of drugs in a patient's body without drawing blood.

Principal Investigator, Dr Ryan Donnelly from the School of Pharmacy, said: "We are delighted that our work has again been recognised by our peers. We have received a lot of industrial interest in our microneedle technology and are currently working on industrial scale-up of the manufacturing methods described in this paper. This award is further recognition of how research at Queen's is advancing knowledge and changing lives. 

"We are pleased to acknowledge the sponsors of the work, the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council and Invest Northern Ireland. We are also grateful to the other funders of our microneedles research, the Wellcome Trust, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council and Action Medical Research."

Head of the School of Pharmacy, Professor David Woolfson, said: "This award again recognises the high quality research on novel polymeric microneedle systems being carried out by Dr. Donnelly and his group, as well as the world leading research being undertaken at Queen's. It is particularly noteworthy as it represents recognition from one of the world's leading pharmaceutical science journals." 

The Queen's team won the award for their paper: "Design, Optimization and Characterisation of Polymeric Microneedle Arrays prepared by a Novel Laser-Based Micromoulding Technique".