Nanotechnology shows promise for next-generation vaccines in the fight against COVID-19
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Nanotechnology shows promise for next-generation vaccines in the fight against COVID-19 By Maluta Steven Mufamadi
T
he world is currently in a race to create a safe and effective vaccine to control and reduce the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. Today they are more than 167 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development, approximately 138 in preclinical evaluation, and 29 in human clinical trials.1–3 However, the vaccines engineered employing traditional approaches such as inactivated and live-attenuated strains of the virus itself are associated with many downsides, including lengthy time to manufacture, high toxicity, and infectiveness. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new types of vaccine to address these issues.4 Nanotechnology has paved new pathways and provided a new avenue in vaccine development for infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, at an unprecedented speed.5–8 Nanovaccines use nanoparticles as adjuvants or carriers of biological moieties such as DNA, RNA, and recombinant proteins to the antigen-presenting cell.6 In addition, nanovaccines can boost vaccine effectiveness by inducing both humoral immunity (antibody-mediated immunity)
and cell-mediated immune responses.9 Nanoparticles based on cationic lipids and synthetic and natural polymer nanomaterials are being explored to enhance the delivery of the active biological moieties in the next generation of vaccine formulations.10 These novel nanotechnologies have enabled the next generation of vaccine candidates to enter into human clinical trials. The impact of nanotechnology in the COVID-19 crisis is seen in the design of effective nanotech-based antiviral disinfectants; the new generation of facemasks that could kill the virus immediately; masks that are washable, reusable, recyclable, and self-sterilized; and rapid COVID-19 diagnostics kits.
Nucleic acid-based vaccines
Nucleic acid-based vaccines, such as DNA plasmid and messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, are among the newest vaccination technologies currently undergoing testing for the fight against COVID-19. DNA plasmid vaccines are based on genetically engineered DNA plasmid containing the DNA sequence encoding the antigen. Messenger RNA vaccines, on the other hand, are made up of mRNA sequence codes for antigen proteins that are identical to or resembling those of the pathogen.11–13 Nucleic acid vaccines have many advantages. They are simpler to produce and easy to scale up to large volumes compared to traditional vaccines. DNA and RNA vaccines using synthetic processes require no culture compared to traditional vaccine approaches that require cultures or fermentation processes, which are timeconsuming and expensive.
However, naked DNA plasmid and mRNA-based vaccines are easily eliminated by nucleases through the reticuloendothelial system (RES), which makes it difficult to deliver them into host cells in targeted tissues.14 The use of nanoparticles as the vehicle makes it easy to
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