We have presented a novel intradennal drug delivery device, exploiting the unsteady high speed flow produced by a miniature shock tube to entrain drug or vaccine particles onto a skin target. Our powder delivery device exploits the unsteady flow generated by the triggering of a miniature shock tube to entrain micron-scale particles at high-speed onto a skin target. The device further exploits an area contraction between the driver and driven sections of the shock tube to produce higher gas, and thus particle, velocities, than a constant area shock tube. Particle velocities between 300 and 500 m/s are achieved with the device, which are sufficient to breach the stratum corneum layer of most skin targets. Although no effort was made to optimize the formulation or the injection parameters in the present study, the powder injector demonstrates great promise for the rapid, safe and painless intradermal delivery of systemic drugs and vaccines.
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