New 3D Printed vaccine patch offers greater protection

Recently, Scientists have developed a three-dimensional (3D) printed vaccine patch that provides greater protection than a typical immunisation shot.

The team at Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) in the US applied the vaccine patch directly to the skin of animals, which is full of immune cells that vaccines target and the resulting immune response from the patch was 10 times greater than vaccine delivered into an arm muscle with a needle jab.
The technique uses 3D-printed microneedles lined up on a polymer patch and barely long enough to reach the skin to deliver the vaccine.

Study shows that the vaccine patch generated a significant T-cell and antigen–specific antibody response that was far greater than an injection delivered under the skin.
Increased immune response could save vaccine doses as a microneedle vaccine patch uses a smaller dose to generate a similar immune response as a vaccine delivered with a needle.
Through 3D printing, the microneedles can be easily customised to develop various vaccine patches for flu, measles, hepatitis or COVID-19 vaccines.
The vaccine patches, which incorporate vaccine-coated microneedles that dissolve into the skin, could be shipped anywhere in the world without special handling and people can apply the patch themselves.
The ease of using a vaccine patch may also lead to higher vaccination rates and a new way to deliver vaccines that is painless, less invasive than a shot with a needle and can be self-administered.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an additive manufacturing process that creates a physical object from a digital design.
The process works by laying down thin layers of material in the form of liquid or powdered plastic, metal or cement, and then fusing the layers together.
3D Printing is applicable for sectors like Medical science, Construction, Manufacturing, Education etc.

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