A 3D printed vaccine patch offers vaccination without a shot

Stanford University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill develop microneedle vaccine patch that outperforms needle jab to boost immunity

image: Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Stanford University use 3D printer to produce microneedle vaccine patch that dissolves into the skin to boost immunity. view more 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Scientists at Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created a 3D-printed vaccine patch that provides greater protection than a typical vaccine shot.

The resulting immune response from the vaccine patch was 10 times greater than vaccine delivered into an arm muscle with a needle jab, according to a study conducted in animals and published by the team of scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Considered a breakthrough are the 3D-printed microneedles lined up on a polymer patch and barely long enough to reach the skin to deliver vaccine.

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