Hybrid microneedle patch for administration of measles and rubella vaccine with an on-patient medical record

Decentralized on-patient medical record (OPMR) storage would enable medical staff to access patients' medical information on demand, especially in low-resource settings lacking centralized recordkeeping infrastructure. We incorporated near-infrared (NIR) microparticles into microneedle patches (MNPs) to invisibly encode medical information in the skin for OPMR using a specialized reader. NIR particles were co-encapsulated with inactivated polio vaccine in the same microneedles without loss of antigenicity. However, measles and rubella vaccines combined with NIR particles lost almost all potency. We therefore developed hybrid MNPs that spatially separated NIR particles in patterned microneedles in the central part of the patch and vaccines in separate microneedles around the periphery. This approach preserved vaccine potency. Ex vivo testing in pig skin demonstrated effective microneedle penetration and reliable OPMR signal readability. In vivo studies in rats and guinea pigs demonstrated OPMR signal retention for up to 21 months. Immunogenicity studies in cotton rats confirmed that neutralizing antibody titers were similar after measles vaccination by hybrid MNPs (containing NIR particles), conventional MNPs (without NIR particles) and subcutaneous injection. These findings suggest that hybrid MNPs enable co-administration of vaccines and NIR particles for OPMR or co-delivery of other materials requiring sequestration.