Vaccine patch
A vaccine patch is a needle-free (in the traditional sense) delivery system for vaccines . Most vaccine patches are smaller than a five-cent piece and have microneedles through which the vaccine is introduced into the immune cells of the skin .
construction
Depending on the source, different types of microneedle plasters are described. Some contain 50 steel microneedles that are 0.7 millimeters long. Other vaccination patches have 100 microneedles with a length of 0.65 millimeters. Other vaccine patches ( nanopatches ) developed in Australia have 20,000 microneedles per cm².
Some vaccine patches use microneedles made of a stable polymeric substance that is water-soluble and quickly dissolves under slight pressure of the thumb if the skin or sweat comes into contact with the skin after the vaccine has been introduced.
advantages
The pharmaceutical industry sees the advantages of vaccine patches in the fact that the vaccination process can be carried out very easily, even without medical specialists, and there is no need to maintain a cold chain for the vaccines, as the vaccine can be applied dry-coated in the manufacture of the nanopatches (dry-coated vaccine). This makes vaccination plasters especially interesting for the tropics . In addition, needle accidents (e.g. infections with used hypodermic needles ) are avoided.
Web links
- Investment Fund Helps Take The Pain Out Of Vaccinations . (PDF; 54 kB) Senator Kim Carr (Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research), Australia. Media Release August 2, 2011
- Mark R. Prausnitz: Laboratory for Drug Delivery . Atlanta, USA, accessed May 16, 2012.
- DNA Vaccination in the Skin Using Microneedles Improves Protection Against Influenza . In: Molecular Therapy , 2012, doi: 10.1038 / mt.2012.69 , accessed May 16, 2012.
- Big deal for nano biotech company . UniQuest, University of Queensland, August 2, 2011, accessed May 16, 2012.
- Finalist Mark Kendall: nanopatches for improved vaccination . In: The Australian , October 29, 2011, accessed May 16, 2012.
- Nanopatch-targeted skin vaccination against West Nile Virus and Chikungunya virus in mice . August 16, 2010, PMID 20665754 , accessed May 16, 2012.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joachim Czichos: Influenza protection : Vaccination plaster works better than injection . Wissenschaft-aktuell.de, April 13, 2012, accessed May 14, 2012.
- ↑ Vaccination patches could one day replace needles . innovations-report.de, July 19, 2010, accessed May 14, 2012.
- ^ Vaccine patch could come in mail: scientist . Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 27, 2010, accessed May 14, 2012.
- ↑ VInfluenza protection: Vaccination patch works better than injection . April 13, 2012, accessed November 25, 2013.