Fellow Prodigies,
First of all I would like to thank all of our Blog's readers and wish them a very Happy New Year.And here we are with our special New Year article.
Every year millions of people are dying because of lack of vaccination and other environmental factors which gradually deteriorate the effect of the vaccine. This thought might not have struck the most of us. But it did to a boy, who grew up to tarnish this phenomena. A young, energetic and determined Australian, Mark Kendall, determined to change the world of vaccine.
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| Mark Kendall |
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Nanotechnology has substantially increased its presence in the field of governing our lives. So Mark Kendall, a biomedical engineer, thought of the fusion of nanotechnology and medical research in order to pave the way for 'NanoPatch'.
What is NanoPatch? Mark Kendall studied the factors which reduced the effectiveness of vaccines programs in a country. He zeroed on the following factors:-
- Vaccines had to be stored and maintained between 2 C and 8 C.
- Vaccines become useless if exposed to direct sunlight.
- 80 percent of a Vaccination program's funds are devoured by its storage.
So, Mark Kendall, devised Nanopatch. Nanopatch is a vaccine which uses nanotechnology. It has nano-small spikes which are coated with powdered and dry vaccine. So for this, Kendall brainstormed his expertise, and by using computer technology, he employed a stream of ions to blow away the surrounding silicon matrix and leaving a jungle of tiny spikes barely a tenth of a millimeter tall. But these were spikes, not needles, so they couldn't be injected with vaccine. So Kendall used his fluid mechanics knowledge in order to devise a novel procedure,i.e. gas-jet method, to powder coat the spikes with the dose of the vaccine which was in dry form.
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| Nano, er? |
It all started when Kendall was invited to Oxford University in 2005 and he was elated by the presence of highly trained minds on the subject, which was one of his inspirations.
NanoPatch will we administered in the patient's body using a spring loader. The patch has to remain on the skin for 1 minute pressed using the loader. Since there is no needle involved, it will a piece of cake for
trypanophobians (Fear of needles). The Nanopatch will cost less than $1 to manufacture and will use less than 1 percent of the current vaccination dosage, which is such delightful to hear. It will also be recommended to people who have fear of needles and for people in African countries, where poverty is rampant.
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| Needle in a haystack? |
In 2011, Mark Kendall started his own company Vaxxas Corp. with an investors syndicate so that he could undertake the manufacturing and distribution process of NanoPatch. Since it is small as a human nail, it can be transported in gargantuan quantities to places and using very less resources and since it is weather resistant, it can be stored anywhere hence environment plays no part in its destruction. So overall NanoPatch is a boon to the world, thanks to Mark Kendall and his team.
Kendall will start the first human trial of the blank NanoPatch (without medicine)in Brisbane,Australia and will study its effect. He hopes to start its distribution by late 2013, firstly in African countries, and then elsewhere. Vaxxas will distribute the Patch in African countries by signing a contract. So it will help them a lot.
Mark Kendall plans to use the patch with medicinal trial internationally for the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine which protects women against cervical cancer.
So it will be a boon to all of us. But the big question is, Will Pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and Ranbaxy acknowledge and help the NanoPatch gain prominence or will they suppress the idea because of the giant Vaccine nexus?
Adios,
Editor.
