Assistant Professor Park Jong-young and Professor Kim Beom-cheok of the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo have developed a biotagging technology that allows animals to be labeled on their skin simply by applying a patch.
In this research, we first developed a new method to create microneedle patches with various patterns from a single master mold. Conventionally, microneedle patches are produced using a master mold and a female mold. To create microneedle patches with different patterns, it was necessary to prepare separate master molds and female molds. Therefore, by embedding plugs with various designs made with a 1D printer, we were able to create female molds with various patterns. This makes it possible to easily create microneedle patches with various patterns such as letters and numbers from a single master mold.
This technology was applied to a new tagging method (biotagging) for identifying individual animals. A soluble microneedle patch with a recognition pattern consisting of specific letters and numbers was created by mixing an insoluble ink with the material of the needle structure. When the dissolvable microneedle patch enters the body, the needle structure reacts with water in the body and dissolves, and at the same time, the dissolved ink in the form of a recognition pattern remains permanently in the dermis of the skin. As a result, it has become possible to label animals quickly and easily by directly inserting patterns of letters and numbers into the animal's skin simply by applying a patch.
Until now, tagging animals required separate identification tags, treatment tools, and in some cases a veterinarian, but the results of this research have made it possible to tag animals easily and without pain. It is expected that In the future, this technology is expected to be widely used in fields that require animal management.
Paper information:[Scientific Reports] Biotagging method for animal identification using dissolvable microneedle arrays prepared by customisable molds
