Development of micro-needle array for Tumor vaccine patch applications

Microneedles have been given sufficient potential as a patch for transdermal drug delivery. However, very few product on the application of MEMS for the vaccine delivery is reported. The aim of this paper is to develop the vaccine coated solid microneedle patch by the use of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, The fabrication of a silicon microneedle arrays made by UV lithography, inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) and wet chemical etching process. To solve the limitation of low vaccine volume carried, groove and pocket structure will be introduced. Besides, through the control of formulation of surface tension, viscosity and hydrophilic/ hydrophobic properties by optimization of vaccine formulation composition, the vaccine carried volume can be achieved. Moreover, bioactive of vaccine will be investigated by parameter of the osmotic pressure and phase-transformation. Combination of vaccine formulation and microneedle to fabricate the delivery device, the release profile of the device will be evaluated in vitro, and will be further evaluated in the artificial human skin system to observe the immune response. The research will be included two parts: 1. vaccine coated solid microneedle patch device will be established; 2. design a microneedle patch having specific application, such as enterovirus 71 vaccines, and to realize a commercial available vaccine microneedle patch device. Consequently, a microneedle array with biodegradable porous tips was further developed based on the fabricated microneedles patch.