UC San Diego nanoengineering professors Nicole Steinmetz and Jon Pokorski have been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 that is stable outside of the cold chain and only requires a single-dose.
Such a vaccine could greatly boost global vaccination efforts, particularly in resource-poor areas of the world, the researchers said. A single-administration vaccine could also enable vaccination of livestock, which could help prevent future outbreaks, the researchers add.
Steinmetz and Pokorski’s proposed vaccine will package mRNA that encodes for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and its domains inside virus-like particles derived from a plant virus called Tobacco mosaic virus. The vaccine will then be packaged into slow-release implants that are made of protein/polymer blends. Steinmetz will lead the vaccine development, and Pokorski will lead the delivery technology development.
The researchers note several key advantages of this technology. The approach uses virus-like particles, which are materials that look like a virus but are non-infectious. Because they look like a virus, they can stimulate and enhance the body’s immune response.
Plant viruses are easy to produce in large scales because they can be grown on plants. Another advantage is that they are extremely stable at high temperatures, which means they can withstand the melt processing techniques that will be used to manufacture the implants. These manufacturing methods are also inexpensive and easy to scale. At the same time, the high degree of thermal stability means that these vaccine candidates are not required to be stored or shipped in refrigerators or freezers.
The NIH award will provide the team $434,500 of funding over
two years.
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