Microneedles

Vaccines are the most preferred way to protect human health as they offer protection against a variety of infectious diseases. They play a vital role as they protect not only the individuals but also the entire community. But painful hypodermic needles have limited their usage as they sometimes cause injuries and are relatively unsafe. This has paved way for the scientists to search for alternative means of vaccine delivery. In this article, we summarize some of these novel technologies like use of microneedles, needle-free injections, nasal delivery of vaccines, edible vaccines and melt in mouth strips. These drug delivery techniques have grown significantly in response to above mentioned challenges. All these approaches provide improved safety, better compliance and are non-invasive means of vaccine delivery. Absence of hypodermic needles also significantly reduces the chances of disease transmission. These techniques are used for delivery of vaccines, DNA, proteins, insulin and other macromolecules. The future of vaccine delivery is assured to be significantly influenced by many such promising technologies.