Vaccine delivery using microneedles

Abstract

Breaching the skin’s stratum corneum barrier raises the possibility of administration of vaccines, gene vectors, antibodies, photosensitisers and even nanoparticles, all of which have at least their initial effect on populations of skin cells. Intradermal vaccine delivery, in particular, holds enormous potential for improved therapeutic outcomes for patients, particularly those in the developing world. Various microneedle-based vaccine delivery strategies have been employed, and here we discuss each one in turn. We also describe the importance of cutaneous immunobiology on the effect produced by microneedle-mediated intradermal vaccination.