Mass deployable self-administered DNA vaccines by Microneedle Arrays

尽管mRNA疫苗战略为应对covid - 19大流行提供了快速反应，但生产规模扩大和冷链要求等问题限制了其对发展中国家和兽医使用的适用性。随着病毒性疾病的不断出现和重新出现，其中大多数是人畜共患疾病，人们更加注重开发能够提高大规模疫苗接种速度和成本效益的技术。质粒DNA （pDNA）是一种更稳定和易于接受的核酸疫苗载体，但需要创新的策略来提高免疫原性和递送。此外，对医务人员的要求、冷链/储存和针式侵入性分娩也是影响大规模部署的不利因素。该奖学金将重点关注采用我们目前正在为covid - 19 （Innovate UK）和寨卡（SBRI）翻译的pDNA策略的全球快速部署疫苗的关键开发需求。EPSRC和CDT主题1。2、产品设计先进；制药工艺工程，与本提案高度一致，旨在通过利用有效的疫苗平台，创新方法，通过微针产生可扩展的皮内给药，解决核酸疫苗的设计和工艺工程瓶颈。

Although mRNA vaccine strategies have provided a rapid response to the COVID19 pandemic, issues of production scale-up and cold-chain requirements restrict their suitability for developing countries and veterinary use. With the increasing emergence and re-emergence of viral diseases, most of which are zoonotic, there is increased focus on developing technologies that increase the speed and cost-effectiveness of mass vaccination. Plasmid DNA (pDNA) is a more stable and amenable vector for nucleic acid vaccines but innovative strategies to improve immunogenicity and delivery are required. Furthermore, the requirement of medical staff, cold-chain/storage and invasive delivery by needle, are also negative factors in mass deployment.The studentship will focus on the key development needed of globally rapidly deployable vaccines employing pDNA strategies we are presently translating for COVID19 (Innovate UK) and Zika (SBRI). The EPSRC and CDT themes of 1. Advanced product design, 2. Pharmaceutical Process Engineering, align strongly with this proposal, which aims to address design and process engineering bottle-necks of nucleic acid vaccines by exploiting an efficacious vaccine platform, with innovate methods to generate scalable intradermal delivery by microneedles.