Measles vaccines given using nearly painless microneedle patches can immunize against measles just as well as with conventional hypodermic needles, according to research done by the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In the study, the Georgia Tech researchers developed a technique to dry and stabilize the measles vaccine – which depends on a live attenuated virus – and demonstrated that it remained effective for at least 30 days after being placed onto the microneedles. They also demonstrated that the dried vaccine was quickly released in the skin and able to prompt a potent immune response in an animal model.

The microneedle technique could provide a new tool for international immunization programs against measles, which killed nearly 140,000 children in 2010. To advance the microneedle technique, they are now working to improve the stability of the dry vaccine. They are also studying the use of polymer-based microneedles that would fully dissolve in the skin, removing the need to dispose of potentially infectious waste.

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