With the development of transdermal drug delivery methods there is a growing potential for creating safer and more efficient means of vaccine delivery and improving access for children in remote areas of developing countries. Problems with conventional needle delivery in areas with limited supplies include the risk of blood borne pathogen transmission through accidental needle sticks, wastage and contamination during the reconstitution process, storage and cold chain maintenance. Microneedle based drug delivery systems consisting of an array of pointed, out-of-plane microneedles have been proposed for painlessly delivering a single dose of a vaccine across the stratum corneum. Initial studies of these devices have occurred in both animals and humans demonstrating proof of concept and efforts are being focused on designs for low cost production.
Project end date: 02/04/09