A professor at the University of Rhode Island is developing a painless, needle-less vaccine to help with nicotine addiction.
Dr. Xinyuan Chen, Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at URI is working to develop a laser-based powder, applied right to the skin. The powdered drug enters through tiny micro-channels in the skin and blocks nicotine’s entry into the brain to help fight the addiction.
Although still in the early phases of developing this new technology, Chen said that he hopes it will one day be made available to anyone who wants to quit smoking.
Chen began working on the project before he came to the university three years ago. He spent seven years at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.