The Nanopatch targets cells in the skin’s outer layers
Efforts to rid the world of polio have taken another significant step, thanks to research led by University of Queensland bioscience experts and funding from the World Health Organisation (WHO). A fresh study of the Nanopatch - a microscopic vaccine delivery platform first developed by UQ researchers - has shown the device more effectively combats poliovirus than needles and syringes. Head of UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences Professor Paul Young said the breakthrough provided the next step in consigning polio to history. "Polio was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th century, resulting in limb disfigurement and irreversible paralysis in tens of millions of cases," Professor Young said. "This most recent study showed the Nanopatch enhanced responses to all three types of inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPV) - a necessary advancement from using the current live oral vaccine. "We are extremely grateful to the WHO for providing funding to Vaxxas Pty Ltd , the biotechnology company commercialising the Nanopatch. "The support specifically assists pre-clinical studies and good manufacturing practices." Patch inventor Professor Mark Kendall said the study exhibited a key advantage of the Nanopatch.
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