Painless method of vaccine invented
POSTED March 5, 2010 - 11:53 | POSTED BY Neharika Sabharwal
Last edited by Kangna Agarwal on March 5, 2010 - 12:37
Kanji Takada of Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, a professor of pharmacokinetics (the study of the absorption, distribution and fate of substances delivered to the human body) was guided by the hypothesis that the cause of the pain and bruising from injections was the result of deep penetration of the drug into the skin.
In a bid to counter the existing methods of inoculation accompanied by pain, bruising and discomfort experienced by patients, the new device created by Takada increases the comfort and compliance by delivering the vaccines without breaking the skin or causing any hurt.
He developed a round chip incorporating tiny "needles" that administer a vaccine just below the surface of the skin without penetrating, in a system that minimizes discomfort.
"The patch can be used to deliver any type of vaccine and people are not frightened of having the injection because they feel nothing at all," explains Professor Takada.
The working of the vaccine chip
According to Takada the round vaccine "chip" is 1.5 cm in diameter, and contains around 300 micro needles. The system delivers the drug by penetrating just 0.5 millimeters and does not break the dermis or the second layer of the skin.
The needles are 0.5 mm long and 0.3 mm wide at the base and are made out of a water-soluble polymer that dissolves when pressed into the superficial layers of skin.
The needles release the medicine without breaking the skin's corium and tests show that the efficiency of the vaccine is not adversely affected by the method of delivery.
New injection system perfected in six years
Earlier scientists had developed micro needles made out of sugar, but the devices failed because the needles degraded at temperatures above 100 degrees centigrade.
It took the professor six years to develop the new system in which sugar was replaced with water soluble polymer which dissolves when pressed into the outer layer of skin releasing the vaccine to be absorbed into the circulatory system.
The professor is optimistic that the new injection system could be available for use in hospitals in Japan within two years.
