Microneedles 2012

The second international conference on Microneedles was held on 13-15 May 2012 in Cork, Republic of Ireland, following on from a successful first meeting at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GA, USA) in May 2010. The meeting showcased the latest international developments in microneedle technology and applications. The gathering provided a platform to facilitate interdisciplinary communications and new collaborations for delegates from academic, industrial and clinical backgrounds. The meeting opened with a half-day short course on microneedle technology and applications, followed by invited lectures and poster presentations over 2 days, divided into sessions such as 'Design and technology--solid and hollow microneedles', 'Vaccine delivery' and 'Drug delivery'. This conference report summarizes the keynote and invited speaker lectures from leaders in the field such as Mark Prausnitz (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Mark Kendall (University of Queensland, Australia).