Immuno Forest: Microneedles for Delivering Vaccines into the Skin
Immuno Forest: Microneedles for Delivering Vaccines into the Skin
Collections: Image Award Winners
2012 Award Winner
Peter DeMuth
Irvine and Hammond Labs
Koch Institute at MIT
These biodegradable microneedles, each less than a millimeter tall, could be coated or embedded with vaccines and applied to the skin as a patch. The needles would penetrate the highly immunoactive outer layers of the skin but not the deeper layers containing nerves and blood vessels, making them painless, safe and potent.
![](/files/images/styles/exhibit_full/public/imce/exhibits/2012/peterdemuth.jpg?itok=j-2tIetH)
Video
Peter DeMuth explains how and why he captured this image of a microneedle array.