Abstract

BIONEEDLE: A PROMISING FUTURE FOR IMMUNIZATION

Labeeba Paduvan Padath*, Aswathy B., Remya Ravindran, Nabeela P., Rekha M. and
Ramkumar R. P.

ABSTRACT

Immunization is one of the most important and cost effective strategies for the prevention of childhood sickness. It is typically done by the administration of vaccines. An ideal vaccine should be highly efficacious, easy to administer, thermostable and capable of providing life-long immunity against a given pathogen. But unfortunately all the vaccines are not ideal. Vaccination campaigns using syringes, needles, vials and refrigeration is very burden process. Moreover, injections may cause stress, fear and concern in children and their parents, which could negatively affect compliance to vaccination programs. Among the various approaches, bioneedle has proven to be a better alternative for safe vaccine delivery. Bioneedle is a biodegradable mini-implant, made up of a polymer based on starch, allowing for high speed vaccination of thermostable vaccines. It completely omits the use of syringes, needles, vials and refrigeration. By using an applicator it is injected into the skin, where the biodegradable mini implant dissolves and the antigen is released which is being reconstituted by the body fluids. The technique of subcutaneous insertion of Bioneedles with a kinetic energy of 0.33 Joule and higher is 100% effective and pain free. The global tolerance of Bioneedles is ‗‗very good‘‘.and Bioneedles offer a safe, effective and very fast alternative vaccination method. This review describes the history, advantage, mechanism, formulation and the current scenario of bioneedles.

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