NEW DELHI: HRD minister of state Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has designed and successfully tested a new concept of needleless vaccine delivery system in the laboratory.

In a written reply, Tharoor said the new method has been developed based on the collaborative work between the laboratory for hypersonic and shock wave, the department of aerospace engineering, and the microbiology and cell biology department of the Indian Institute of Science. IISc is the only organization in the world that has developed such a device.

Tharoor said using the new technique, typhoid vaccines have been successfully delivered into mice in laboratory. He said this method utilizes the instantaneous mechanical impulse generated by micro-blast waves to achieve subcutaneous delivery of vaccines into mice. The micro-blast wave is generated inside a small disposable plastic tube (3 mm in diameter) using a negligible amount of chemical energy.

Tharoor said animals do not feel the pain during vaccine delivery because the depth of penetration of drug below the skin is very small. The minister said the animal trials have also shown that by using this method a lesser quantity of vaccines is sufficient to provide resistance to animals against infection when compared to conventional methods. Tharoor said the new system has multiple advantages like being painless, easily portable, completely disposable, safe and economical.