A new nano-vaccine developed by TAU and the University of Lisbon offers a needle-free, room-temperature-storable solution against COVID-19, targeting all key variants effectively.
Professor Ronit Satchi-Fainaro’s lab at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences has collaborated with Professor Helena Florindo’s lab at the University of Lisbon to develop a novel nano-vaccine for COVID-19. This nano-vaccine, a 200-nanometer particle, effectively trains the immune system against all common COVID-19 variants, performing as well as existing vaccines.
Unlike other vaccines, it is conveniently administered as a nasal spray and does not require a cold supply chain or ultra-cold storage. These distinctive features pave the way for vaccinating populations in developing countries and the future development of simpler, more effective, and less expensive vaccines. The groundbreaking study was featured on the cover of the prestigious journal Advanced Science.
Development and Design of the Nano-Vaccine
Prof. Satchi-Fainaro explains: “The new nano-vaccine’s development was inspired by a decade of research on cancer vaccines. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we set a new goal: training our cancer platform to identify and target the coronavirus. Unlike Moderna and Pfizer, we did not rely on full protein expression via mRNA. Instead, using our computational bioinformatics tools, we identified two short and simple amino acid sequences in the virus’s protein, then synthesized them, and encapsulated them in nanoparticles.” Eventually, this nano-vaccine proved effective against all major variants of COVID-19, including Beta, Delta, Omicron, etc.
Benefits of the Nano-Vaccine: Needle-Free Administration
“Our nano-vaccine offers a significant advantage over existing vaccines because it is needle-free and administered as a nasal spray,” notes Prof. Satchi-Fainaro. “This eliminates the need for skilled personnel such as nurses and technicians to administer injections, while also reducing risks of contamination and sharp waste. Anyone can use a nasal spray, with no prior training.”
Advantages in Storage and Shipping
Another major advantage of the revolutionary nano-vaccine is its minimal storage requirements. Moderna’s sensitive mRNA-based vaccine must be kept at -20°C and Pfizer’s at -70°C, generating great logistic and technological challenges, such as shipping in special aircraft and ultra-cold storage – from the factory to the vaccination station.
Prof. Satchi-Fainaro’s novel synthetic nanoparticles are far more durable and can be stored as a powder at room temperature. “There’s no need for freezing or special handling,” she says. “You just mix the powder with saline to create the spray. For testing purposes (as part of the EU’s ISIDORe (Integrated Services for Infectious Disease Outbreak Research) feasibility program) we shipped the powder at room temperature to the INSERM infectious diseases lab in France. Their tests showed that our nano-vaccine is at least as effective as Pfizer’s vaccine.”
Future Implications and Expanding Applications
These important advantages—ease of nasal administration and regular storage and shipping — pave the way towards vaccinating at-risk populations in low-income countries and remote regions, which existing vaccines are unable to reach. Moreover, the novel platform opens the door for quickly synthesizing even more effective and affordable vaccines for future pandemics. “This is a plug-and-play technology,” explains Prof. Satchi-Fainaro. “It can train the immune system to fight cancer or infectious diseases like COVID-19. We are currently expanding its use to target a range of additional diseases, enabling the rapid development of relevant new vaccines when needed.”
Reference: “Intranasal Multiepitope PD-L1-siRNA-Based Nanovaccine: The Next-Gen COVID-19 Immunotherapy” by Rita C. Acúrcio, Ron Kleiner, Daniella Vaskovich-Koubi, Bárbara Carreira, Yulia Liubomirski, Carolina Palma, Adva Yeheskel, Eilam Yeini, Ana S. Viana, Vera Ferreira, Carlos Araújo, Michael Mor, Natalia T. Freund, Eran Bacharach, João Gonçalves, Mira Toister-Achituv, Manon Fabregue, Solene Matthieu, Capucine Guerry, Ana Zarubica, Sarit Aviel-Ronen, Helena F. Florindo and Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, 8 August 2024, Advanced Science.
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202404159
The groundbreaking project has received competitive research grants from the Israel Innovation Authority and Merck under the Nofar program, as well as funding from Spain’s “La Caixa” Foundation Impulse as an accelerated program, and support from the ISIDORe feasibility program. It is also part of a broader vaccine platform development program at Professor Satchi-Fainaro’s lab, supported by a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant.
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.
30 Comments
Thanks, but no, thanks.
7.5
What’s even the point coming up with new vaccines against COVID anymore? COVID is gone, it’s history. Or are they planning on spreading it again?
Based on what nonsense? If you can’t see it it’s a hoax? So all those people who died from Covid were crisis actors? So the virus was spread by the Trump administration via contrails? Sounds like MAGA pseudoscience.
It WAS real, you dufus. But it has mutated into a harmless variant of flu by now. And the existing vaccines didn’t help one bit. Nature did.
But if you wanna try the next experimental crap they’ve just come up with, go ahead, be my guest. One idiot less on the planet.
People died from COVID, yes. Most had co-morbidities, though. So COVID wasn’t the primary cause. The virus itself is not a hoax, it was indeed engineered in a lab funded by Fauci.
Now that is funny! Engineered by Faucci? Hehe. And the earth is flat…civil war was not about slavery…Q is a genius…. Got where you are now. Thanks.
Engineered in a lab, dufus. That’s finally been admitted, same as masks not working, social distancing not working, the vaccines not working, and everything else we were saying from the very beginning.
Dangerous.
Stop the technology of biowarfare already!
People that think covid Yes, gone are just.
Trying to deceive American values.
Will lead. To America’s downfall Dark adestroy.
Ed destroyed europe.
U right. COVID never existed. Like the moon landing, and Shoah. Nah.
I clearly said it did, dumbo.
Yeah, you obviously didn’t pay attention during science from first grade until you dropped out. When your grandkids get polio you’ll have an opportunity to rethink this, but you don’t really seem like the rethinking type. Keep letting your superhero “President” tell you what to “think”.
Balls
Very sad, covid-29 is not gone. Stop reading non science based propaganda.
The Big Pharma stocks are trending downwards lately, so maybe it’s time for a new pandemic.
Ya don’t know what ya don’t know, it’s a shame when lack of knowledge cause you to think your so smart and completely informed.better through away that cell phone, I mean sending messages all over the world, how can that be possible.
Bro, do you even English?
This is great, but I can’t imagine there are that many people who did not either get COVID, or the vaccines. I hope this is just a demonstration, and they are going to address many of the other viruses out there, including all the latent infection viruses. These likely contribute to accelerated aging and quite possibly Alzheimer’s.
There are hotheads and neurotics who won’t take vaccines, but I am all for defending my body from pathogens. I won’t be satisfied with 70 years on this planet. I think really great things are on the way in a few decades.
I am nearly 56 and trying to take care of my body. I am getting into shape. I lost 60 lb of fat without drugs, and I am keeping it off. I am doing a variety of anti-aging therapies, and they are working. I curled 60 lb dumbbells 10 reps yesterday. My grip is 196 lb. No pains. I can easily touch my toes first thing in the morning.
Less than 2 years ago, I had 15 biomarkers out of wack. Down to 4 and those only slightly out. And I am not even taking any medications at the moment.
I have more to go to get in genuinely good shape. And I have more to achieve in life.
Diet: Reduced Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs), reduced lead, high carotenoids, high polyphenols, antioxidants, greatly reduced processed grains, high food variety, omega 3 foods. Exercise: hiking zone 2, and resistance training. I intend to soon add HIIT, Isometrics, and serious stretching. Working on sleep. Skipping dinner. Collagen peptides, glycine, TMG, taurine…
The vaccines don’t protect against COVID or transmission.
Calling someone dumbo on a science magazine thread. How intelligent. BTW, every time you contract Covid, you not only risk long Covid, but your risk of heart attack and stroke as much as double for at least 3 years (the limit of the data), so NO, it is STILL not “a harmless variant of the flu”.
Isn’t it the vaccines which cause heart issues?
Covid vaccines may cause heart inflammation in a small percentage of a small subset of males (generally 18-30)… MUCH SMALLER than the subset given the same or worse inflammation if they caught Covid without prior vaccination.
I’m only calling “dumbo” the people that put words in my mouth, instead of reading what I actually said. No intelligent discussion is possible with them.
And nobody ever called CoViD a “harmless variant of the flu”. Firstly, it’s not harmless, it CAN kill. Secondly, the flu is not harmless either. It also can kill.
“Long CoViD”, though, is something you contract when you let them vaxx you with experimental concoction.
We still talking about COVID VACCINES? No thanks I’m good 🙅🏻
So no mRNA manipulation? This is a traditional vaccine?
“…performing as well as existing [COVID] vaccines.”
So…it’s ineffective and unsafe?
Please, enough with the MAGA anti-science. When will this nasal vaccine be available in the US?
You: “MAGA!!! BLAAAAARRRGH!!!” Put. Your big boy pants on, kiddo. For good or bad, he’s going to be president again. Crying isn’t going to change that fact.
Agreed, DJ. I also wonder if it will be available to people with asthma and other lung problems. But great news, even if it turns out to be limited in who can take it.