The young twenty-first century has already brought several medical advances, such as a functional artificial human liver created from stem cells, improved
antiviral (e.g., against HIV) and
cancer (e.g., against
breast cancer)
therapies, interventions controlling
cardiovascular diseases, and development of new and optimized
vaccines (e.g.,
HPV vaccine). However, despite this substantial progress and the achievements of the last century, humans still suffer considerably from diseases, especially from
infectious diseases. Thus, almost one-fourth of all deaths worldwide are caused directly or indirectly by infectious agents. Although vaccination has led to the control of many diseases, including
smallpox,
diphtheria, and
tetanus, emerging diseases are still not completely contained. Furthermore, pathogens such as Bordetella pertussis undergo alterations making adaptation of the respective
vaccine necessary. Moreover, insufficient implementation of vaccination campaigns leads to re-emergence of diseases which were believed to be already under control (e.g.,
poliomyelitis). Therefore, novel vaccination strategies need to be developed in order to meet the current challenges including lack of compliance, safety issues, and logistic constraints. In this context, mucosal and transdermal approaches constitute promising noninvasive vaccination strategies able to match these demands.