Technology Update: Laser Ablation Technology for Transdermal Immunization

Vaccination is the modern technique to control the spread of the infectious diseases. Transdermal route of immunization has gained attention because of the large number of the antigen-presenting cells residing in the skin. However, the major challenge in transdermal immunization is to overcome the most superficial layer of the skin, stratum corneum, which acts as an impermeable barrier preventing the diffusion of the molecules across skin. A variety of methods to overcome the stratum corneum barrier have been developed to deliver the antigens across the skin, including microneedles, thermal ablation, tape stripping, laser ablation etc. The current review focuses on the use of the laser ablation technology as a means of creating the micropores on the surface of the skin for the transdermal immunization. Several groups have studied the effects of number of pores formed by the ablative laser as well as the intensity of the laser on the permeation of the antigens across the skin. The immune response generated by the ablative laser mediated transdermal immunization has been compared to the traditional routes of vaccination including subcutaneous and the intradermal routes, and the laser ablation has been shown to be an effective immunization strategy in the mouse model. The ablative laser mediated transdermal immunization is a non- invasive, convenient and safe immunization strategy, and has a potential to be used as an alternative immunization strategy for the mass vaccination in the near future.