| Posted: May 7, 2007 |
'Nanopatches' to make needles a thing of the past |
|
(Nanowerk News) A painful jab in the arm could be a thing of the past now that Queensland researchers are working on a small skin patch to deliver life saving vaccines.
|
|
Premier Peter Beattie said the University of Queensland had been awarded a $1,240,519 Innovation Projects Fund grant to work with an international team on developing the ‘nanopatch’.
|
|
When all other partner funding is included, the total project involves an overall investment of $3.5 million.
|
|
“The patch will contain very tiny projections (micro-nanoprojections) that when applied to the skin will deliver the vaccine to the target cells below the surface,” Mr Beattie said.
|
|
“It’s a revolutionary approach that will overcome several of the problems of existing vaccine delivery – including the need for medical personnel to administer needles, the cost and logistics of storing and transporting vaccines, and hygienic needle use and disposal.
|
|
“All things considered, this technology will have a huge impact on the way vaccination programs are administered in third world countries with the potential to reach far greater numbers of people than under conventional needle technology.
|
|
“It certainly has the potential to make widespread vaccine delivery much more cost effective and, given the approach is pain-free, much more acceptable.”
|
|
Mr Beattie said the University would collaborate with the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) and the World Health Organisation.
|
|
“This project also highlights Queensland’s growing credentials in the area of nanotechnology, an international market projected to be worth over US$2 trillion by the year 2015,” he said.
|
|
The Premier said the project would strengthen links with Washington as it aligns with the Queensland-Washington Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2006.
|
|
The Innovation Projects Fund is part of the Queensland Government’s $200 million Smart State Innovation Funding Program, which aims to build world-class research facilities, attract top-quality scientists to Queensland and stimulate cutting-edge research projects.
|
|
“The Queensland Government has invested more than $3 billion in innovation, science and research since 1998. I think this demonstrates our deep and ongoing commitment to maintaining Queensland’s reputation as the Smart State,” Mr Beattie said.
|
