Shots without needles
Delivering vaccines without the usage of needles might become common in the future if researchers of Tulane University in New Orleans succeed in their efforts. These scientists plan to use nanotechnology to pass the vaccines through the skin. And they received a grant of $2.3 million from the National Institutes of Health over the four years to reach this goal.
Here are some quotes from a short article published recently by the Tulane University Magazine, "No More Needles! Researchers Find New Ways to Vaccinate."
"Vaccine applications using nanotechnology have the potential to increase overall immunity, be more stable, last longer between production and use, and lower the costs of vaccination programs," says principal investigator John Clements, Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
According to Clements the research will draw from the wide range of expertise at Tulane, from developing complex particles smaller than atoms to take vaccines across the skin, to novel ways to watch the delivery process using newly acquired high powered microscopy tools at Tulane, to cell and small animal studies and even further to primate studies.
Unfortunately, neither the list of John Clements's research projects nor the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide additional details about this ongoing research.
So if you know more about this very interesting project, please send me additional information and I'll update this short note.
Sources: Madeline Vann, Tulane University Magazine, April 2006; and various web sites
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