Abstract. We consider simulation and optimal control of transdermal drug transport from systems of solvable microneedles. We solve a two-dimensional problem of vertical transport of solvable drugs through a porous medium with point sources simulating solvable microneedles. It is shown that, by controlling the intensity and specifying the coordinates of the sources, the problem of optimal control of transdermal drug transport can be solved and a desired distribution of drugs in epidermis can be achieved with acceptable accuracy. To solve initial-boundary value problems, finite-difference methods and a two-step symmetrizable algorithm are used.

Keywords: transdermal diffusion, microneedle system, simulation, optimization, point source, microneedle, finite-difference method.