This Cheap Device Could Expand the World's Access to Vaccines

By combining a standard BBQ lighter with superfine microneedles that are common in medical and cosmetic procedures, researchers have developed a $1 device that uses electricity to inject certain vaccines more efficiently-and less painfully.

Its developers say it could expand global access to vaccines containing genetic material, including the ones that fight COVID-19.

Some genetic-material vaccines also have expensive and difficult-to-stabilize components, which require special handling; this makes them less accessible in many parts of the world, especially more remote or less-developed areas.

For any vaccine to work, it has to get inside a person's cells-and the genetic material in mRNA and DNA vaccines needs a little extra help in crossing cell membranes.

DNA vaccines can go without freezing because they do not require lipid nanoparticles: They are more stable than mRNA even without the added fat, and to break into cells, they instead use a "Vector virus," a modified virus different from the one being targeted.

These vaccines have their own drawbacks: ongoing safety concerns about this mode of delivery, and the fact that DNA vaccines tend to generate less of an immune response.

One way to improve prospects for genetic-material vaccines might be through electroporation: injecting the vaccine while delivering a very mild electrical shock, which prompts cells to temporarily open holes in their membranes and let in the vaccine.

In theory, applying electroporation alongside genetic-material vaccines could improve both effectiveness and accessibility.

For mRNA vaccines, genetic material might be able to enter cells without lipid nanoparticles; this means the vaccines could possibly be stored at room temperature.

Beyond increasing access to genetic vaccines, Bhamla sees low-cost, accessible devices like the ones he develops as part of a "Frugal science" ethos that can make experiments cheaper and more accessible.