Abstract
A human almost experiences no pain when pricked by a mosquito. The detailed insertion mechanism of the mosquito proboscis was investigated based on the observation of its penetrating motion into a transparent polymer material using a high speed camera system. Among the parts of the mosquito proboscis, a center labrum and two maxillae beside it were biomimicked, creating the engineering equivalent of three microneedles by using a micromachining process. It was proven that the resistance force during insertion into an artificial skin is markedly reduced by cooperatively moving the three needles in a certain time phase to each other as the mosquito does. It is expected that pain would be reduced using the fabricated microneedles, since pain and resistance force have a positive correlation.
