Russo-US team in Perm works to retire conventional syringes

An international group led by Russian scientists from Perm, in the West Urals, is developing a replacement for conventional syringes to painlessly draw hypodermic fluid

An international group led by Russian scientists from Perm State University (PSU), in the West Urals, is developing a replacement for conventional syringes to painlessly draw hypodermic (subcutaneous) fluid which is analogous to blood, the Russian university announced. Prof. Mark Prausnitz of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, U.S, is also part of the research team. The scientists are working on a technology that would enable collection and analysis of interstitial (tissue) fluid, using microneedle devices. Other countries, such as Japan and the Netherlands, also focus on studying the properties of interstitial fluid; however, the Perm university claims its approach is ?unique.? Its team uses as a microneedle device a polymer plate five millimeters in diameter, which has a hundred hollow polymer needles. ?To draw five microliters of subcutaneous fluid for testing, all a physician has to do is put the plate on a patient?s skin for 15 minutes. The procedure causes no pain whatsoever and brings no psychological discomfort; the microneedles leave no perceptible traces on the skin,? said Prof...