A needle-free, dissolving vaccination has been developed by researchers from Australia, which unlike other next-generation vaccinations uses micro-projections made from dried vaccine, making it possible to mail these out to households during a pandemic.

The nano-patch has been outlined in the latest edition of the journal Small.

This new form of vaccination does not require refrigeration, including eliminating needle injuries completely, Professor Mark Kendall from the University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Bio-technology and Nano-technology said.

According to Kendall, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 30% of vaccinations in Africa are unsafe because of cross-contamination caused by needle injuries.

Smaller than a postage stamp, the nano-patch has 20,000 projections per square centimetre, and which are made from dried vaccine bonded with an excipient like carboxymethylcellulose. Placed against the skin, the projections push through the outer skin layer to deliver biomolecules for targeting cells.

Currently, most vaccines are delivered via needle and syringe into muscle that has few immune cells. In contrast, the skin is abundant in immune cells, thus offering great potential for vaccines, which can successfully exploite with practical delivery devices.

The device is stable and strong when dry, however, when applied to the skin, the projections of the nano-patch immediately become wet, dissolving within minutes, which Kendall says is ten times better than any other delivery method.

The nano-patch will also benefit 10% of the population who suffer from a phobia of needles, as also the fact it uses one hundredth of the dose, the cost to the health system will be considerably reduced.

Contrastingly, the skin’s abundance of immune cells offers great potential for vaccines, if successfully exploited with practical delivery devices.

Stable and strong when dry, Kendall says on application of the nano-patch to the skin, the projections become wet instantly, dissolving within minutes and is ten times better than any other delivery method.

This follows on the April paper submitted by the researchers in the journal PLos One showing the nano-patch triggered a protective immune response using one-hundredth of the standard needle and syringe dose.

Since, the nano-patch vaccine requires no refrigeration and can be self-administered, it can be mailed out to people whenever there is an outbreak, as potentially any vaccine could be delivered via the nano-patch.

Research shows the Nanopatch’s success extends to candidate vaccines for West Nile virus and Chukunga virus, which has been published in a separate paper in Small.

Having proven the effectiveness of nano-patch on mice, the next step is to establish clinical trials to prove it on humans.