3D-printed Vaccine Patch

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – New 3D-printed vaccine patch offers more protection than jabs

Concept –

Scientists have developed a 3Dprinted vaccine patch that provides greater protection than a typical immunisation shot.
The resulting immune response from the patch was 10 times greater than vaccine delivered into an arm muscle with a needle jab, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The technique uses 3D-printed microneedles lined up on a polymer patch and barely longs enough to reach the skin to deliver vaccine.
The ease and effectiveness of the new vaccine may lead to a new way to deliver vaccines that is painless, less invasive than a shot with a needle, and can be self-administered.
Study results show the vaccine patch generated a significant T-cell and antigen-specific antibody response that was far greater than an injection delivered under the skin.