11-Oct-2021 | Market Research Store
Many renowned pharmaceutical companies have launched effective vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, the vaccine technology is still progressing to manufactureeffective and economical vaccinesthat can be stored at room temperature.Researchers at the University of California’s Center of Nano-Immune Engineering have developed vaccines that are thermally stable and can be transported to remote areas worldwide, where ultra-low temperature freezers are not accessible.
Nicole Steinmetz, Professor of Nanoengineering, mentioned that his team has developed the COVID-19 vaccine from the cowpea mosaic virus.The researchers were able to develop easy-to-use, cheap prototypes of the vaccine by harvesting ball-shaped nanoparticles and introducing them to a tiny sample ofan epitope derived from the SARS-CoV-2 protein, whichimitates the immune response in the body after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thesamples derived after the immune response activation using epitope were mixed and melted at 100 degrees Celsius with polymer implants. This process wouldmake the vaccine administration step more accessible, pain-free, and comfortable as microneedle patches can be worn on the arm and self-administration of the vaccine is feasible.
At present, scientists are engaged in devising more options to administer vaccines. Jon Pokorski, one of the researchers in the team, mentioned that it would be great if the team could deliver these self-administrative vaccine patches by mail instead of inviting citizens to clinics, thereby increasing the risk of COVID-19 by violating social distancing guidelines. The team mentioned that during the clinical trials of the thermostable vaccine, samples were administered in mice via implants, microneedles, and a combination of both methods. The resultsobtained through those three trials were equally high and effective in neutralizing antibodies of the SARS-CoV2 virus. Steinmetz mentioned that the surface protein incorporated into vaccine samples made themheat stable. The team also stated that itwouldlook ahead to validate the efficacy of the novel vaccine if it could help develop antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus inside the body.
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