H1N1 microneedle vaccine protects better than injection

A vaccine delivered to the skin using a microneedle patch gives better protection against the H1N1 influenza virus than a vaccine delivered through subcutaneous or intramuscular injection, researchers from Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology have found. Mice given a single H1N1 vaccine through the skin using a coated metal microneedle patch as well as mice vaccinated through subcutaneous injection were 100 percent protected against a lethal flu virus challenge six weeks after vaccination. When challenged with the H1N1 virus six months later, the injected mice had a 60 percent decrease in antibody production against the virus and extensive lung inflammation. Mice that were vaccinated with microneedles, on the other hand, maintained high levels of protection and antibody production after six months, with no signs of lung inflammation. “A major goal of influenza vaccine development has been to confer strong immune responses, including immunological memory and cellular immune responses for long-term...