Poly vinyl alcohol re-usable masters for microneedle replication

We present the first results of microstructure replica with re-usable masters in poly vinyl alcohol (PVA). Microneedles of heights ranging from 500 to 1100 pm were fabricated through double-exposure deep Xray lithography (DXRL) process and successfully replicated. A single PVA master was used as a template to successfully replicate up to 10 PMMA microneedle arrays, suggesting that this method might be a possible alternative to PDMS processes. A preliminary characterization of the relationship between the surface roughness of the substrates and the force required for demoulding was also performed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.