Scientists Develop Mobile Printing Device for COVID-19 Vaccine

Researchers say they have developed a small printing device that can produce vaccine¹ patches for COVID-19 and other diseases.

Since the device is moveable, or mobile, it could be easily deployed² to areas of the world that face difficulties receiving and storing vaccines³, the scientists say.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) led the development of the printer.

While the developers say it will likely take years to become widely available, some experts are calling the technology "exciting."

Creators of the device recently reported their development results in a study in the publication Nature Biotechnology.

The device prints 2-centimeter-wide patches that each contain hundreds of tiny needles that administer vaccine material when pressed against the skin.

The team says such patches offer major improvements over vaccine shots given in the arm. Users can easily self-administer the vaccines and they are mostly painless. The patches could appeal to people resistant⁴ to traditional vaccines. They can also be stored at room temperature for long periods of time.

The popular mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna need to be kept cold in refrigerators. This has made it hard to get them to parts of the world that lack the ability to keep the medicine cold, especially developing countries. Some of those nations criticized the unequal sharing of vaccine shots during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers said the new printer was tested with the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. But the goal of the international development team is for the device to be used for other vaccines as well.

Robert Langer is the co-founder of Moderna and one of the study's writers. He told the French press agency AFP he hoped the printer could be used for "the next COVID, or whatever crisis" happens.

Ana Jaklenec is a researcher at MIT and another co-writer of the study. She said in a statement that the devices could someday establish "on-demand vaccine production."

Jaklenec added, "If, for example, there was an Ebola outbreak in a particular region, one could ship a few of these printers there and vaccinate⁵ the people..."

Microneedle patch vaccines are already under development for COVID-19 and a series of other diseases, including polio, measles⁶ and rubella. But the patches have long struggled to expand because producing them is a costly⁷, labor-intensive process that often involves large machines.

The researchers developing the new process said they shrank the process down by using smaller equipment to create the patches.

Currently, the team said the printer can produce 100 patches in 48 hours. But researchers say experiments have shown that with improvements, the printer could print thousands a day. "And you can have more than one printer," Langer added.

Joseph DeSimone is a chemist at California's Stanford University who was not involved in the study. He said the work "is particularly exciting as it realizes the ability to produce vaccines on demand."

DeSimone has invented his own versions of microneedle patches. He said if the printing process can be widely deployed, it can help bring "widespread access to RNA vaccines."

Antoine Flahault directs the Institute of Global Health at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. He told AFP that production and access to vaccines could be "transformed through such a printer."

This, Flahault added, could become a real "breakthrough." Flahault noted⁸, however, that the success of the method will first require government approvals and mass production. And that could take many years.

Words in This Story

patch – n. a piece of material used to cover a hole in clothes or other material

needle – n. the thin, sharp metal part of a piece of medical equipment used to put medicine in the body

region – n. a particular area in a country or the world

access – n. permission to enter or use something

transform – v. to change something completely, usually to improve it

breakthrough – n. an important discovery

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

4 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

5 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

6 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。