MIT vaccine printer. Image courtesy of Ryan Allen from Second Bay Studios/MIT News.
A 3D printer developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could make waves in the field of vaccine delivery. The mobile vaccine printer, capable of producing hundreds of microneedle vaccine patches per day, could be deployed anywhere vaccines are needed and revolutionize the way they are administered.
According to a study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, researchers showed how they used the printer to produce Covid-19 messenger-RNA (m-RNA) microneedle patch vaccines that could stimulate long-term immune responses similar to those of intramuscular administration in mice. Furthermore, the team demonstrated that the microneedle patches can be stored at room temperature for six months without losing their efficacy.
