Last Updated on October 24, 2022 by You Ling
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has announced a patch vaccine against Novel Coronavirus, according to press reports.Simply applying the vaccine patch to the skin produces enough antibodies to inhibit Novel Coronavirus for up to 1 year!Vaccine developers are applying to the Food and Drug Administration for the investigational drug, which is expected to begin first-phase human clinical trials in the next few months and could be on the market in more than a year at the earliest.
The patch vaccine uses microneedle technology, about the size of an adult’s fingernail, to attach to the skin and inject the vaccine through the skin, eliminating the need for refrigeration for traditional vaccines and avoiding needle damage.
Vaccinations are known to be effective in preventing viral or bacterial infections.Vaccinations, which produce antibodies, have prevented people from developing diseases such as tuberculosis, polio or tetanus, and have even eradicated smallpox.
So far, more than 100 million people worldwide have been infected with novel coronavirus, and many have lost their lives.Modern vaccination technology is increasingly valued, vaccination can protect people from the virus infection, and the vaccine patch as a new generation of vaccination technology, is expected to be on the stage of the medical industry.
Piezoelectric techno logy plays an important role in mass production of patch vaccine.
During vaccination, a lethal, non-toxic, low-toxicity microorganism, toxin or protein is usually injected intramuscularly into the body using a syringe.An immune response, in which the body produces antibodies against the virus.Because vaccines require strict storage and transportation conditions, such as low temperature, clean and sterile, etc.Vaccine management is therefore an ongoing challenge for health workers around the world, especially in developing countries where health infrastructure is weak, and the novel concept of a vaccine patch offers safer and more reliable options.
The vaccine patch consists of a number of microneedles.To use the patch, a needle is inserted into the skin and the vaccine is injected directly into the tip of the needle.Unlike syringes, the patch is painless and safe, and the patch can withstand temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius and can be stored for a long time without losing effectiveness.
The patch will be transported to areas where medical conditions are weak and will be self-imposed on the skin according to instructions.The patch requires less than half the dose of a regular vaccine and is more effective.
Perhaps the biggest advantage offered by the patch approach is durability: the vaccine on the microneedles is dried during production, so its efficacy can be preserved for up to a year without cooling at temperatures up to 40C.This opens up whole new possibilities for vaccination, especially in countries with tropical climates.
Piezoelectric technology can be used to intelligently automate mass production of very small droplets.The tiny droplets on the tip of the vaccine patch microneedles are achieved by means of nanoscale or picoliter distribution devices, such as the actuators of the print head, operating at high operating frequencies up to thousands of Hertz while generating the kinetic energy needed to form the tiny droplets.
Piezoelectric elements and actuators make it possible to produce tiny droplets fully automated on a large scale: the piezoelectric effect is based on the application of an external force through a piezoelectric ceramic element to create an electric charge, and vice versa.Therefore, the piezoelectric ceramic element realizes the instantaneous displacement through the input voltage.Most of these components operate at low power consumption and have durability and reliability, making them suitable for distributing print heads.
A glass capillary tube is placed inside a piezoelectric ceramic tube to produce and dispense precise droplets as small as picolitre volume according to the inkjet principle. This patch vaccine is completely contact-free, can be dispensed on the surface of very small droplets without contamination, and the print head is easy to clean or disinfect.
An alternative to piezoelectric tubes is the piezoelectric actuator, which, when placed on a print head, produces very small droplets of vaccine on the microneedle array with very high speed and precision.The piezoelectric ceramic actuators offer excellent durability: they can work reliably for many years, even in complex systems.
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