Medical

Microneedles used to deliver live dried vaccines through the skin

Microneedles used to deliver live dried vaccines through the skin
Scientists have used microneedle arrays to store a live vaccine at room temperature, and administer it through the skin of lab mice
Scientists have used microneedle arrays to store a live vaccine at room temperature, and administer it through the skin of lab mice
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The microneedle arrays in their silicone molds
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The microneedle arrays in their silicone molds
The arrays were made up of sucrose mixed with a dried version of a live modified adenovirus-based candidate HIV vaccine
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The arrays were made up of sucrose mixed with a dried version of a live modified adenovirus-based candidate HIV vaccine
Scientists have used microneedle arrays to store a live vaccine at room temperature, and administer it through the skin of lab mice
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Scientists have used microneedle arrays to store a live vaccine at room temperature, and administer it through the skin of lab mice
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While it’s vitally important to bring vaccines for diseases such as tuberculosis to developing nations, getting them there is only part of the challenge. Because these countries often have unreliable infrastructures, it’s entirely possible that the vaccines can’t consistently be kept as cold as is required. As a result, they could be rendered ineffective. Now, however, scientists from King’s College London have succeeded in containing a dried live vaccine in a microneedle array, that doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

Microneedle arrays themselves have been around for a few years. They typically consist of a small patch, that has a grid of tiny sharp points on its underside. Those points are made from a non-toxic dissolvable polymer (or another biodegradable material), that has a medication mixed into it. When the patch is placed against the skin, the points painlessly penetrate its top layer, then dissolve and release the medication into the body.

The arrays were made up of sucrose mixed with a dried version of a live modified adenovirus-based candidate HIV vaccine
The arrays were made up of sucrose mixed with a dried version of a live modified adenovirus-based candidate HIV vaccine

The King’s College team started with silicone microneedle array molds, into which they poured liquified sucrose mixed with a dried version of a live modified adenovirus-based candidate HIV vaccine. Once the mixture dried, they removed it from the molds, and applied the resulting patches to the skin of lab mice. The scientists observed that specialized dendritic cells in the animals’ skin triggered an immune response – which is of course the whole purpose of a vaccine.

That immune response was reportedly equivalent to one which would be induced by a liquid vaccine that had been kept at a temperature of -80ºC (-112ºF). By contrast, the microneedle arrays were kept at room temperature.

“This work opens up the exciting possibility of being able to deliver live vaccines in a global context, without the need for refrigeration,” said Dr. Linda Klavinskis. “It could potentially reduce the cost of manufacturing and transportation, improve safety (as there would be no loss in potency), and avoids the need of hypodermic needle injection, reducing the risk of transmitting blood-borne disease from contaminated needles and syringes.”

The microneedle arrays in their silicone molds
The microneedle arrays in their silicone molds

Additionally, as with all microneedle arrays, trained medical personnel wouldn’t be required to administer them, and because they’re painless, more people would likely be willing to get vaccinated.

A paper on the research was published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. More information is available in the video below.

Source: King’s College London

King's College London: Injection-free vaccination technique

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2 comments
2 comments
mooseman
Great! Vaccination by microneedle is *definitely* the way of the future. I can see most needle vaccinations going the way of the CRT.
Grunchy
If they could vaccinate against polio this way, then they could eliminate the murder of vaccination nurses. They could simply mail the vaccinations to concerned parents in plain brown envelopes that they could adminster to their children themselves, privately. Even in developed "enlightened" countries we have need for people to be able to obtain vaccinations in secrecy, out of the control of members of cults, chiropractors, and other vaccination-deniers.