First-generation microneedles were made in microelectronics fabrication plants from silicon and metal, with little latitude in geometry, with very few potential materials, and at a high cost; while useful for intradermal drug delivery, these fabrication barriers inhibited success commercially. Molded microneedles created using a rubber master template represented Microneedles 2.0; molds were used to make needles from organic materials, mostly excipients (like sugars and soft GRAS polymers) that encapsulated APIs. While highly promising, needle fragility using this approach inhibited significant commercial growth. This talk will cover our recent advances in the direct fabrication of microneedles via 3D printing—Microneedles 3.0. By advancing new high-resolution (single-micron) 3D printing capabilities using the continuous liquid interface production (CLIP) technology, we are able to fabricate microneedles with heretofore impossible geometries from mechanically robust organic polymers, while keeping the process inexpensive and adaptable for any relevant cargo/API. Our approach has the potential to yield a potent delivery platform for vaccines that (i) can deliver whatever suite of antigen(s) and adjuvant(s) needed to address current and future infectious diseases; (ii) can be scaled up to billions of doses in a reasonable amount of time; (iii) can help enable more efficient global distribution by either reducing or eliminating the need for a cold supply chain; (iv) can enable a robust and durable immune response with a single dose; and (v) can be self-administered in a patient compliant, pain-free manner to reduce or eliminate the burden of healthcare worker-administered immunizations.

Microneedles 3.0: High-resolution 3D printing for microneedle vaccines

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.