New Australian Design Uses Sound Waves To Administer Aerosol Vaccine

Scientists from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Monash University in Australia have designed a new method for administering inhalable vaccines by using sound waves to aerosolize vaccines, The Herald Sun reports.

Most vaccines in current use are injectable by needle, but this delivery method creates problems for a variety of reasons. Potential waste and infection risk from needles are substantial. Transport, storage, and administration of injectables in low-income countries all prove to be a challenge. Furthermore, patient’s fears of needles often interfere with their willingness to receive treatment.

A large amount of effort and research has been directed towards vaccine research, which circumvents the need for needles, either by designing vaccines in pill form or in aerosols. There are a few oral vaccines currently in use, but many clinical trials have been frustrated by the potential for the vaccine to break down in the stomach before the immune system can respond.

For over ten years, scientists have been at work on aerosol vaccines. Scientists from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto reported that several thousand humans had received aerosol vaccinations for diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, and influenza, all with some success. The general consensus is that the direction is feasible.

However, the main problem facing researchers in the development of inhalable vaccines is how to aerosolize a vaccine without destroying it.

Anushi Rajapaksa, lead researcher at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, explains to The Herald Sun, “Vaccines are proteins, which are very sensitive to heat and forces.”

The nebulizer designed by Rajapaksa’s team is approximately the size of a matchbox, is battery powered, and uses sound waves to agitate the proteins, which start out in liquid form and turn into an aerial, inhalable form.

Rajapaksa told Bernama, “The nebulizer technology can be made portable and only requires batteries for operation. There is huge potential of this work to be used for mass vaccination programs, especially in developing countries with limited resources.”

Preclinical studies published in Respiratory Research, were performed on sheep and have shown significant success in producing necessary antibodies at levels required by WHO specifications.

According to The Herald Sun, the nebulizer has another promising indication. The Herald Sun reports that scientists also believe it has potential to deliver stem cells into the lungs of premature babies to repair damaged tissue.