Silk Microneedles Offer an Earlier Vaccination Route for Farmed Fish
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers and U.S. Department of Agriculture collaborators have developed food-grade silk microneedles that deliver vaccine materials underwater to juvenile fish.
Published November 15, 2026Briefs / Frontier Tech / Synthetic Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers and U.S. Department of Agriculture collaborators have developed food-grade silk microneedles that deliver vaccine materials underwater to juvenile fish. In research described by MIT on November 2, shellac-coated needles pierced wet skin, stayed attached and released their cargo in a controlled way. The team includes Meng Li and Benedetto Marelli at MIT and Gregory Wiens at the USDA. MIT's research account
The researchers demonstrated delivery to trout weighing roughly one to two grams. Wiens says conventional needle-based vaccination typically becomes practical at about 30 grams, making earlier delivery a potentially useful tool for aquaculture. The single-use microneedles were designed for bacterin or DNA vaccine cargoes and degrade after application. The ACS Nano paper
Delivery feasibility does not by itself establish protection against disease at commercial farm scale. The next development work is to connect reliable dosing and fish handling with protective efficacy, animal welfare and a practical farm process. The attraction is a materials-based way to make vaccination accessible earlier in a fish's growth, with the delivery device designed around the underwater environment.