What Are Microneedle Vaccines? - Microbial Minutes

What if there was a way to get a vaccine without getting a shot? With dissolvable microneedle vaccine patches, there is.
These vaccines consist of tiny structures (known as microneedles) that dissolve when they enter the skin, releasing an antigen that then triggers an immune response.
Recently, scientists developed a printer for microneedle patches that uses “ink” containing mRNA nanoparticles targeting a component of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.. What are the potential applications for vaccine delivery?
Microneedle vaccines are not needles in the normal way we think of them.
Rather, they consist of tiny pyramidal or conical structures clustered on postage stamp-sized patches. There are various types of microneedle vaccines that differ in composition and delivery mechanism.
For the dissolvable variety, the microneedles contain an antigen (such as the mRNA encoding a viral protein) and, once they enter the skin, begin to dissolve, releasing the antigen.
Immune cells in the skin then interact with the antigen and mount a protective response.
Study:
vander Straeten, A., et al. A microneedle vaccine printer for thermostable COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Nature Biotechnology, April 24, 2023. www.nature.com/articles/s4158...
Additional Sources
Bridgewater, H. Vaccines Delivered via Dissolvable Skin Patches. American Society for Microbiology, Dec. 14, 2022. asm.org/Articles/2022/Decembe...
Frew M.P., et al. Acceptability of an Inactivated Influenza Vaccine Delivered by Microneedle Patch: Results from a Phase I Clinical Trial of Safety, Reactogenicity, and Immunogenicity. Vaccine. Oct. 21, 2020. doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.202...
Trafton, A. Vaccine Printer Could Help Vaccines Reach More People. MIT News. April 24, 2023. news.mit.edu/2023/vaccine-pri....
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[@olabodesegun3235]

I'm learning...

[@suriyam4056]

Can you please tell production of whole virus inactive vaccine and live attenuated vaccine

[@stevebadachmusic]

Is this safe and effective as well?

[@-astrangerontheinternet6687]

I wonder if they’ll be able to get an emergency use authorization to bypass the usual scrutiny again. (Not that the normal level of scrutiny is sufficient)