Nanovaccine Study Achieves High Immune Response
Mar 14 2021 Read 605 Times
Scientists at the Warsaw University of Technology are working on a nanovaccine based on recombinant SARS-CoV-2 virus proteins covalently bound to biodegradable iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). Researchers from the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering and the Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies along with a team of immunologists, are aiming to produce a vaccine that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. They also intend to propose a method of fast development and production of vaccines against mutant forms of the virus or new viruses and bacteria that may be identified in the future.
A group of scientists from the Warsaw University of Technology is ready to test their COVID-19 vaccine on animals but testing would depend on finding a bigger partner with the necessary resources.
There is still a sufficient amount of funds for animal testing, however, the next stages, including human testing, will not be possible without financial support, explained the leader of the team of scientists working on the vaccine, Professor Tomasz Ciach of Warsaw University.
There is still room for new vaccines on the market, Ciach added, pointing to the shortages of vaccines that are produced abroad.
According to Ciach, developing a vaccine at a national level is even more important due to possible future new waves of the virus. “It may turn out – as is in the case of the flu – that vaccines will have to be renewed every once in a while. Constant access to our own vaccine will then be a huge safeguard and help protect us,” he said.