Needle-free syringe passes test on mice Metal-free microneedles could help tackle trypanophobia - the fear of needles - as well as make vaccination easier in tropical countries The fear of syringes and needles could become a thing of the past after British scientists successfully tested the use of metal-free microneedles to inject an experimental vaccine into animals. In a modern twist on the Sound of Music song that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, they found that a freeze-dried vaccine attached to glucose spikes could be injected by simply pressing it against the skin. IN Science In a paper published on Monday, a group at Kings College London reported tests in mice immunised with a freeze-dried "live" vaccine to be as effective as the conventional liquid version injected more deeply by needle. The test is the latest in a series of efforts by drug and medical device companies in recent years to find the "holy grail" of a needle-free syringe. Their findings could help not only tackle trypanophobia - the fear of needles - in the squeamish but also have far broader impact on safety and low-cost distribution of vaccines around the world. The researchers, led by Linda Klavinskis, described in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences how they used an experimental HIV vaccine - not itself effective - to test the underlying technique. "This work opens up the exciting possibility of being able to deliver live vaccines in a global context, without the need for refrigeration," she said. The team's success offers benefits for a wide range of existing and experimental fragile vaccines that require an uninterrupted refrigerated "cold chain," making distribution in poor tropical countries difficult. It also raises the prospect of reduced risk of "needle-stick" injuries from a used syringe contaminated with blood or bacteria. Their research used a technology developed by Theraject, a US-based biotech company, to create microneedles that coated the dried vaccine on to sugar in a mould. Applied against the skin, the pressure is sufficient to open the surface layer and allow the vaccine to penetrate. Sung-Yun Kwon, founder of the company, said he had licensed the technique for applying anti-wrinkle cosmetics in the Far East and was developing applications for migraine and pain treatments and flu vaccine in the US. "We want to offer it for vaccines in Africa without any profit," he said. A number of drug companies produce patches on the arm to deliver medicines, including nicotine-replacement therapy, but the pores in the skin are too small to allow them to inject vaccines and larger molecules such as proteins. AstraZeneca uses a nasal spray application for its flu vaccine FluMist but efforts by other companies to find needle-free devices have fallen short, including Intercell, which failed in tests to apply a traveller's diarrhoea vaccine with a scratch pad to the skin. Pharmajet in the US claims to have won regulatory approval in a number of countries for its gas-injected device but would not say where. The US Food and Drug Administration said it had not seen data supporting its safety and efficacy.