Those who tremble at the sight of a needle may one day be able to receive immunizations via a DNA vaccine patch.
Funded by the National Science Council (NSC), the patches have been jointly developed by scientists from National Taiwan Ocean University, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and Academic Sinica’s Genomics Research Center.
Research results on the patches were published in the May 4 issue of the Journal of Controlled Release.
National Taiwan Ocean University associate professor Wu Chang-jer (吳彰哲) said at a press conference yesterday that DNA vaccines are usually administered using an intramuscular injection or gene gun.
However, many patients are afraid of needles and syringes, and infections can result if the needles are not clean.
The cost of using gene guns to administer the vaccine is also high, he said.
Explaining how the DNA vaccine works, Wu said that the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the epidermis, helps block the entry of substances coming from the outside.
The patch first removes the stratum corneum with hydroxy acids so that the DNA vaccine can enter the body through the skin.
The vaccine is also wrapped with liposomes, which stop the vaccine from being catalyzed and help join the vaccine and the cells so the antigen for a disease can be produced.
“The advantage of the DNA patch is that it is very stable and can be preserved under normal temperatures,” Wu said. “Since the patch does not penetrate the skin, there will not be any cross-infection issues.”
Wu said that only two patches are needed for the vaccines to take effect. Patients can take the patches off after two to three hours.
Wu said that the patches could be available in two years to 10 years, depending on how long it takes to complete testing and secure approval from the government.
The research team is trying to develop a DNA vaccine patch for Japanese encephalitis for mass production. It is planning to develop DNA vaccine patches for other epidemic diseases, such as SARS and avian flu.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods