ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2021
An ultra-low-cost electroporator with microneedle electrodes (ePatch) for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- DNA-based vaccines: Advances, applications, and future prospects.Genes & diseases · 2026Review
- Article
- Microneedles for Vaccination: Mechanistic Foundations, Materials Innovation, Clinical Translation, and Global Health Implementation.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
- Noninvasive Monitoring of Skin pH Changes Induced by Microneedle Electroporation.Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical · 2026Article
- Advanced strategies for the diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination of monkeypox.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Review
- Article
- Low-cost, handheld, multi-pulse electroporators for simplified nucleic acid delivery in skin.Bioengineering & translational medicine · 2026Article
- Engineering microneedles for biosensing and drug delivery.Bioactive materials · 2025Review
- Microneedle delivery systems for vaccines and immunotherapy.Smart molecules : open access · 2025Review
- Bicelle-induced skin penetration mechanism for hydrophilic molecules.RSC advances · 2025Article
- A scoping review on the importance of vaccination strategies targeting skin imprinting for arthropod-borne diseases.NPJ vaccines · 2025Article
- Advances in the Functionalization of Vaccine Delivery Systems: Innovative Strategies and Translational Perspectives.Pharmaceutics · 2025Review
- The Long-Term Immunity of a Microneedle Array Patch of a SARS-CoV-2 S1 Protein Subunit Vaccine Irradiated by Gamma Rays in Mice.Vaccines · 2025Article
- A DNA vaccine candidate provides protection against Rift Valley Fever virus in sheep under natural field conditions.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Long-term Immunity of a Microneedle Array Patch of SARS-CoV-2 S1 Protein Subunit Vaccine Irradiated by Gamma Rays in Mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Tolerability of a piezoelectric microneedle electroporator in human subjects.Bioengineering & translational medicine · 2024Article
- Transdermal microarrayed electroporation for enhanced cancer immunotherapy based on DNA vaccination.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Fourth dose of microneedle array patch of SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein subunit vaccine elicits robust long-lasting humoral responses in mice.International immunopharmacology · 2024Article
- Soft Injectable Sutures for Dose-Controlled and Continuous Drug Delivery.Macromolecular bioscience · 2024Article
- Non-invasive transdermal delivery of biomacromolecules with fluorocarbon-modified chitosan for melanoma immunotherapy and viral vaccines.Nature communications · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other pathogens with pandemic potential requires safe, protective, inexpensive, and easily accessible vaccines that can be developed and manufactured rapidly at a large scale. DNA vaccines can achieve these criteria, but induction of strong immune responses has often required bulky, expensive electroporation devices. Here, we report an ultra-low-cost (<1 USD), handheld (<50 g) electroporation system utilizing a microneedle electrode array ("ePatch") for DNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The low cost and small size are achieved by combining a thumb-operated piezoelectric pulser derived from a common household stove lighter that emits microsecond, bipolar, oscillatory electric pulses and a microneedle electrode array that targets delivery of high electric field strength pulses to the skin's epidermis. Antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 induced by this electroporation system in mice were strong and enabled at least 10-fold dose sparing compared to conventional intramuscular or intradermal injection of the DNA vaccine. Vaccination was well tolerated with mild, transient effects on the skin. This ePatch system is easily portable, without any battery or other power source supply, offering an attractive, inexpensive approach for rapid and accessible DNA vaccination to combat COVID-19, as well as other epidemics.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.