Patches could replace needles in vaccines of the future
Newly developed incredibly small patches could eventually eliminate the need for vaccine injections.
A study conducted by RMIT University and international heavyweights Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard has found a potential solution to the need to store vaccines at low temperatures.
Researchers think this could deal a blow to the more than 14 million children worldwide who have never been vaccinated by 2024, according to the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
The patches consist of hundreds of tiny tips that deliver the vaccine into the skin, rather than a traditional injection.
Although a promising breakthrough, lead author and RMIT researcher Brendan Dyett warned that it could be a decade before vaccine patches are widely used in humans.
But Dr Dyett said if patch technology improved, protection against dangerous diseases could be both cheaper and more widely available.
“Being able to distribute these materials at room temperature and not requiring cold storage infrastructure reduces barriers and also makes it more cost-effective,” he told AAP.
“Australia is a pretty big country and there are many regions that have far fewer resources than our urban cities.”
Vaccine patches have a number of logistical advantages that have the Melbourne researcher excited.
Currently, mRNA vaccines must be delivered and administered in liquid form.
This means most vaccines must be transported at very cold temperatures; This can be difficult for long commutes and communities that lack the necessary infrastructure.
But researchers have identified conditions in dry vaccine patches that help preserve mRNA-carrying particles and rehydrate them upon contact with skin.
Dr Dyett said past attempts to first dewater and then rehydrate the vaccine particles had irreversibly changed the structure.
“If you’re cooking and you split the sauce at the end, you still have all the raw ingredients you used to begin with, but their texture is different…you’ve lost the texture and flavor you were going for,” he said.
This progress, Dr. It was made possible through the use of the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne, which Dyett calls the “MCG of scientific equipment”.
The research, published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, tested the patches on mice and rats.
The report included practical guidance for future patch design.
