title: Delivering vaccines into the skin without needles and syringes.
abstract: The skin is a highly accessible organ and due to the presence of powerful antigen-presenting cells in the epidermis, it functions as an immune barrier. This makes the skin an attractive route for potential delivery of vaccines by painless and user-friendly methods without the requirement of needles and syringes. This article reviews current attempts to administer vaccines into the skin and discusses some of the scientific issues related to the emerging delivery technologies.
authors.affiliation: UPR 9021, CNRS, Immunologie et Chimie Thérapeutiques, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue René Descartes, F-67084 Strasbourg, France. H.Partidos@ibmc.u-strasbg.fr
authors.forename: Charalambos D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Partidos
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009339:Needles; D012869:Skin Absorption; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D013594:Syringes; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods*; D014612:Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines