Needleless or Noninvasive Delivery Technology

Abstract

Injections of drugs or vaccines have become an indispensable part of living systems. Introduction to injections begins from the vaccination regimen at the neonatal stage and continues throughout the life span of an individual. Conventionally, injections are administered using hypodermic needles and syringes. These usually inject the liquid in the muscle, thus making intramuscular injections the most common form of administration. Although hypodermic syringes have been a clinician’s tool in global vaccination efforts, they also have a set of undesirable characteristics. Pathogen transmission in case of HIV and HBV is one of the deadliest disadvantages of the needle-based injection system. Generation of plastic wastes in clinics, needlestick injury, and most importantly, pain associated with needle-based injections are a few more reasons of concern. In light of these issues, developing needle-free injection systems has excited researchers across the globe since the 1950s. Significant advancement has been reported in this field and various needle-free injection systems have been developed and are in clinical practice. This article briefly describes the history of needle-free injection systems and provides a detailed account of a few well-known methods of needle-less injections available.