Dr Germain Fernando - UQ reSEARCHers (Research Interests)

	Research Interests

2010	Vaccinations using a novel needle-free, pain-free skin patch.
	Although effective vaccines are available for combating diseases such as flu and cervical cancer, some people are reluctant to get vaccinated because of the fear of the needle. The needle and syringe first invented in 1853 is still being used because of the convenience to the person administering the vaccine. However this method has many disadvantages: Fear of the needle and the pain of injection, especially among children. Furthermore injection into muscle is less efficient than delivering the vaccine directly to immunologically sensitive cells in the skin. We have designed a skin patch to overcome these disadvantages. We have recently published data to show potent immunity can be induced using very low doses of vaccine delivered by the skin patch. Reference: Fernando et al PLoS One 2010 April 21:5(4), e 10266.
Keywords:	Nanopatch, skin vaccinations