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Vaccine development is branching out from the time-tested methods of using live attenuated strains of the disease-causing agent, or a part of the virus which is antigenic, to recombinant vaccines that depend on the production of viral antigens by bacterial or yeast cells into which the genes encoding these antigens are inserted. Another approach is to create vaccines from the genetic code of the virus itself. The major difference between microneedling and microneedle patches is that microneedle patches cannot harm the skin and cause injury. Help! How Do I Decide Which Ones Are Best for Me?
Microneedle patches for potential COVID-19 vaccines or Microneedle patches for potential COVID-19 vaccines or
To date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized three vaccines for use during the COVID-19 pandemic: one based on protein, and two on RNA. All of them must be kept refrigerated or frozen, which limits their distribution to remote or resource-limited areas. In addition, the vaccines must be administered by a healthcare worker as an injection into a muscle. Because immune cells aren’t typically found in muscles, scientists have investigated various ways to deliver vaccines into the skin, which contains abundant antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and could therefore generate a stronger immune response. Hui Li, Guangjun Nie, Hai Wang and colleagues wanted to develop a microneedle patch that efficiently delivers a COVID-19 vaccine under the skin, causing potent and durable immunity without the need for a cold chain or painful injections. Tests using human cadaver skin showed that the quantum-dot patterns could be detected by smartphone cameras after up to five years of simulated sun exposure. To create an “on-patient,” decentralized medical record, the researchers developed a new type of copper-based quantum dots, which emit light in the near-infrared spectrum. The dots are only about 4 nanometers in diameter, but they are encapsulated in biocompatible microparticles that form spheres about 20 microns in diameter. This encapsulation allows the dye to remain in place, under the skin, after being injected. Two or three doses of standalone IPV or combined IRV-IPV in the first-generation dMNP at full or half dose induced protective titers (≥1:8) of NA to the corresponding PV types 1, 2, and 3 in rats (Fig. 5d–f). The differences in antibody titer between post-vaccine doses 2 and 3 of full dose standalone IPV and full IRV-IPV were not statistically significant. Similarly, the differences in antibody titer between post-vaccine doses 2 and 3 of full-dose IPV, full-dose IRV-IPV, and half-dose IPV or half-dose IRV-IPV were not statistically significant. Of the three IPV types, IPV 2 was the most immunogenic and induced high geometric mean titers (GMTs) to PV type 2 even with a single dose. Storage, access, and control of medical records is an important topic with many possible approaches,” says Mark Prausnitz, chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Georgia Tech, who was not involved in the research. “This study presents a novel approach where the medical record is stored and controlled by the patient within the patient’s skin in a minimally invasive and elegant way.”Corbett, H. J., Fernando, G. J., Chen, X., Frazer, I. H. & Kendall, M. A. Skin vaccination against cervical cancer associated human papillomavirus with a novel micro-projection array in a mouse model. PLoS ONE 5, e13460 (2010).
No more big needles: scientists develop a skin patch that
She said: “You can experience gastrointestinal side-effects; there is a delay between taking the medication and the drug getting to where it’s needed in the body; doses need to be higher because a lot of the formulation is broken down in the gut, and if the patient is taking antibiotics, this can also contribute to antimicrobial drug-resistance.' Towards clinical trials Although there are no vaccines delivered by microneedle patches on the market, there are nonmedical applications for sale. Cosmetic companies sell microneedle patches that promise to smooth skin and remove wrinkles. It is hoped that the patches, which are described in the journal Biomaterials Advances, will be ready for use within the next five to 10 years. Peyraud, N. et al. Potential use of microarray patches for vaccine delivery in low- and middle- income countries. Vaccine 37, 4427–4434 (2019). There are many advantages to the use of microneedles, the most prominent being the improved comfort of patients. Needle phobia can affect both adults and children, and sometimes can lead to fainting. The benefit of microneedle arrays is that they reduce anxiety that patients have when confronted with a hypodermic needle. In addition to improving psychological and emotional comfort, microneedles have been shown to be substantially less painful than conventional injections. [9] Some studies recorded children's views on blood sampling with microneedles and found patients were more willing when prompted with a less painful procedure than traditional sampling with needles. Microneedles are beneficial to physicians as well, since they produce less hazardous waste than needles and are generally easier to use. Microneedles are also less expensive than needles as they require less material and the material used is cheaper than the materials in hypodermic needles.Shin CI, Jeong SD, Rejinold NS, Kim YC.. Microneedles for vaccine delivery: challenges and future perspectives. Ther Deliv. 2017;8:447–60. Anyone with acne prone skin needs to be careful of microneedling using a dermaroller as these devices can spread the acne causing bacteria around the skin, and potentially cause acne spots to spread. To improve manufacturing and delivery efficiency, second-generation dMNP, composed of 163 700-µm-tall MNs with a total MN volume of 2.7 µl, were fabricated similarly with the following differences. For the IRV-containing dMNP, the CMC in the formulation was replaced with methylcellulose (MC) and CMC was removed from the polymer matrix solution of IPV-containing dMNP. Since CMC is unable to be sterilized by filtration, methylcellulose (MC) was evaluated in combination with the other excipients and found to be a suitable replacement for CMC in the formulation to be more compatible with future GMP manufacturing. In addition, the combination IRV-IPV dMNP were fabricated as a single patch and not assembled halves of two separate arrays, as done with the first-generation combination dMNP. Thomas, Liji. (2020, April 09). Microneedle patches for potential COVID-19 vaccines or therapeutics. News-Medical. Retrieved on October 31, 2023 from https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200409/Microneedle-patches-for-potential-COVID-19-vaccines-or-therapeutics.aspx. The patch also works in reverse, extracting small quantities of fluid from beneath the skin for medical analysis. This may be helpful, for instance, for monitoring the levels of lactate (a component of lactic acid) and other chemicals in patients with an infection. Clear benefits
Opportunities and challenges for commercializing microarray
Microneedle patches contain active skin rejuvenating ingredients that have been crystallised to form sharp crystals no bigger than 250 microns, which is about a third of the width of a human hair. So, pretty small.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify that this research was developed to help avoid preventable deaths in parts of the world where paper or digital systems for storing patients’ vaccination records aren’t available. Many vaccines require multiple doses spaced out at certain intervals; without accurate records, people may not receive all of the necessary doses. The method is still in an experimental stage and is not being used for any current vaccinations, including Covid-19 vaccines. Bachy, V. et al. Langerin negative dendritic cells promote potent CD8+ T-cell priming by skin delivery of live adenovirus vaccine microneedle arrays. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 3041–3046 (2013).
Progress in microneedle array patch (MAP) for vaccine delivery Progress in microneedle array patch (MAP) for vaccine delivery
Microneedles that can carry vaccines are part of a patch developed by Thanh D. Nguyen's lab at the University of Connecticut.Rahamathulla M, Murugesan S, Gowda DV, Alamri AH, Ahmed MM, Osmani RAM, Ramamoorthy S, Veeranna B. Rahamathulla M, et al. AAPS PharmSciTech. 2023 Oct 19;24(8):216. doi: 10.1208/s12249-023-02661-1. AAPS PharmSciTech. 2023. PMID: 37857918 Review.
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