Back to Archived Journals » Vaccine: Development and Therapy » Volume 3

Review of recent literature on microneedle vaccine delivery technologies

Authors Vrdoljak A

Received 10 June 2013

Accepted for publication 13 July 2013

Published 22 August 2013 Volume 2013:3 Pages 47—55

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/VDT.S34682

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 4



Anto Vrdoljak

Development Laboratory, Genera, Rakov Potok, Croatia

Abstract: Microneedles (MNs) have been developed as medical devices for enhanced and painless transdermal drug and vaccine delivery. MN-based vaccine application, unlike conventional intramuscular or subcutaneous application using hypodermic needles, delivers vaccine directly into skin, which is known to be an immunologically much more relevant vaccination site than underlying tissue. Vaccination using MN devices targets the skin's rich immune system, leading to better utilization of the antigen and resulting in superior immune response, often achieved using a lower vaccine dose than required by conventional delivery routes. However, despite the number of advantages and nearly four decades of research, the number of licensed MN-based vaccines remains limited to date. Nevertheless, it is to be expected that on the back of a number of recently developed scalable and robust MN-fabrication methods, more intensive translation into clinical practice will follow. Here, we review the current status and trends in research of MN-related vaccine delivery platforms, focusing on the most promising approaches and clinically relevant applications.

Keywords: microneedles, vaccine delivery, skin vaccination

Creative Commons License © 2013 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.