Nanoparticles is next-generation vaccine technology

Nanoparticles: Next-generation vaccine technology. The mRNA technology used by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna to develop vaccines against COVID-19 is the next-generation vaccine. They have proven their ability and effectiveness of rapid research and development. But researchers are studying another type of vaccine technology that uses nanoparticles that are cheaper than mRNA vaccines and do not need to be stored at very low temperatures like current mRNA vaccines.

For example, the temperature requirement for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is about -94 degrees Fahrenheit. Moderna vaccine storage requirements are not strict, but it still needs to be frozen at about -4 degrees Fahrenheit. In particular, these requirements are somewhat expensive for middle-income countries.

More traditional vaccines that use inactivated, weakened or genetically modified viruses as carriers are also very effective and are generally easier to store and transport than mRNA vaccines. But they also take longer to develop and are more likely to have adverse effects.

One method being developed by Stanford University researchers is to use nanoparticles. The preclinical study was recently published in the journal ACS Central Science.

The author of this study, Stanford University Virginia and Ludwig Biochemistry Professor Peter S. King said: “Our goal is to create a single-use vaccine that can be stored or transported without the need for a cold chain. Our vaccinated population It’s a low- and middle-income country.”

The vaccine being developed for COVID-19 uses nanoparticles of iron-containing protein. Several SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins are attached to the surface of each ferritin nanoparticle. Spike protein is a protein used by viruses to enter cells, and its principle is similar to locks and keys. So far, the approved vaccines use a variety of methods to introduce the virus’s spike protein into the body so that the immune system can recognize it and attack it when it encounters it again.

Prior to this, Kim’s laboratory was working on a ferritin-based vaccine against Ebola. In animal studies, this designed nanoparticle vaccine produces a stronger immune response than injecting isolated viral proteins into animals. It seems that the nanoparticles mimic the entire virus.

Abigail Powell, a former postdoctoral student in the laboratory and the lead author of the study, warned: “This is indeed at an early stage and there is still a lot of work to be done. But we believe that this is a solid starting point for a single-dose vaccine program. It does not rely on the use of viruses after vaccination to produce protective antibodies.”

Another potential advantage of such nanoparticle vaccines is that they can be developed quickly. It takes about four weeks from the first concept to the first animal test. They accept that since other COVID-19 vaccines have been deployed globally, they may not need their own vaccines. Their next challenge is to design a “universal” coronavirus vaccine that uses the proteins of several lethal coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1, which causes SARS, MERS virus, and SARS-CoV- which causes COVID-19. 2 and possibly other coronavirus researchers have been paying attention.

The vaccine uses antigenic determinants (a specific part of a known antigen) from the La Jolla Institute of Immunology. Then, it will deploy its own Gritstone EDGE and vaccine platform technology to develop a vaccine that contains a spike protein, but it is expected that other additional viral epitopes are expected to be good targets for T cell immunity. This technology uses self-amplified mRNA and adenovirus vectors to deliver antigens. They hope that it can prevent multiple SARS and coronaviruses in the event of a coronavirus pandemic in the future.

“Compared with currently available vaccines, Gritstone’s vaccine can provide more comprehensive virus protection by inducing T cell responses and better combination of neutralizing antibodies,” said Daniel Hoft, director of the Vaccine Development Center and Infectious Diseases Department of St. Louis University. Allergy And immunology, member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, program chair and chief principal investigator of Gritstone’s COVID research. “It is important that we continue to develop these next-generation vaccines because we do not yet know whether existing vaccines that have been authorized for emergency use will provide long-term immunity or prevent their spread.”

(source:internet, reference only)

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