Nanopatch, a revolution for vaccination!

What if a small square of silicone, equipped with 20,000 nano-needles themselves covered with antigens (the vaccine) could change the face of medicine? Or at least more precisely that of vaccination!

The nanopatch

Invented by an Australian researcher, Mark Kendall, the nanopatch may soon send back to oblivion the good old syringes, used for over a century to administer vaccines. This small, painless device triggers an immune system response by calling on the very sensitive skin cells. The “patch” has many advantages over a conventional vaccine. To make it you need silicone or bicarbonate, 50 cents and above all, it requires only 1% of the dose of antigen used in traditional injections. Another very important asset: it remains stable at room temperature! "Getting rid of the costly and fragile cold chain would change everything", enthuses Seth Berkley, member of the Gavi Alliance, a non-profit association which is funding the project.

(Embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGRy5VU-LfI (/ embed) 

How did this idea come about?

"I always wanted to do something big", laughs the 42-year-old researcher. "I dreamed of being a pilot in the Australian Air Force, but as I wear contact lenses, I was failed", he says. Years later after becoming an engineer, he began his career at the prestigious English University of Oxford. This is where he discovers the world of infectious diseases. With other colleagues, he developed a slightly different from normal vaccination method, which consisted of spraying microparticles of vaccine onto the epidermis at a speed of 2000 km / h. Unfortunately the latter will be considered too complicated and too expensive, and will ultimately be abandoned. Back in Australia, at the University of Queensland, he is developing a new idea born this time from a dream. "I was bored at a conference and I took advantage of this parenthesis outside my laboratory to imagine this patch", he remembers. "When I got back to my lab, I turned that idea into reality. "

And where is it at?

Clinical trials are just beginning, but this innovation seems to have already conquered the WHO (World Health Organization) as well as the American laboratory Merck. Mark Kendall measures the expectation created by his project in remote and destitute regions like Africa. While the WHO has launched an offensive to eradicate polio, its patch may well be the missing weapon in the arsenal of doctors. "In countries like Pakistan and Nigeria, imagine the difficulty of delivering and administering conventional vaccines! The patch removes many of the obstacles that WHO faces. ", rejoices the scientist. The first human tests will be carried out on a few volunteers in Brisbane, Australia this year and, as of 2016, a clinical trial will start in Cuba. "If successful, we could launch it in 2020", he believes. By then, it will need to be able to produce 100 million patches. "A real challenge", he recognizes!

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