COVID-19 vaccine development and a potential nanomaterial path forward

Abstract

, a novel coronavirus (nCoV or SARS-CoV-2) belonging to the betacoronavirus family emerged 1,2. All human betacoronaviruses are unique from one another, however, they do share a certain degree of genetic and structural homology. SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence homology with SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV is 77% and 50%, respectively 3. In contrast to the relatively smaller outbreaks of SARS-CoV in 2002 and MERS-CoV in 2012, SARS-CoV-2 is exhibiting an unprecedented scale of infection, resulting in a global pandemic declaration of Coronavirus Infectious Disease (COVID-19) on 11 March 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). On 1 June 2020, the World Health Organization reported >6 million confirmed cases and 371 thousand deaths globally. Of note, during the 1918 influenza pandemic, more death was observed in the second phase of outbreak 4. Similar to influenza, COVID-19 harbours the potential to become a seasonal disease 5. The high infection rate, long incubation period, along with mild-to-moderate symptoms experienced by many, make COVID-19 a troubling disease. A vaccine is crucial, in particular because data indicate asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 6-8. More than 10 years ago, scientists predicted the pandemic potential of the coronaviruses 9. And for the past 30 years, a once-per-decade novel coronavirus has pushed our public health system to the limit, with SARS-CoV-2 being the most severe. Despite the repeated warnings and discussion, the world was not prepared for this pandemic. The rapid development, distribution and administration of a vaccine to the global population is the most effective approach to quell this pandemic and the only one that will lead to a complete lifting of restrictions. Challenges include the vaccine design itself, but also its manufacture and global distribution; cold chain requirements present logistical and fiscal barriers to the availability of important, life-saving vaccines in resource-poor areas of the world. Innovating vaccine delivery platforms and devices to break cold chain limitations are therefore an efficient solution to safeguard potent vaccination for both wealthy and lower-income countries.

Quantifying nanodiamonds biodistribution in whole cells with correlative iono-nanoscopy

“…Though further experimental and clinical studies should be performed to validate our results, we believe our findings can deepen the fundamental understanding of nanoparticle-radiosensitization mechanisms to facilitate charged-particle cancer therapy in the era of precision medicine 32,38 . In addition, our unique technique of correlative iono-nanoscopy of whole cells may benefit many other emerging applications, for example, intracellular delivery and screening of potential COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines 39,40 .…”

Progress and Pitfalls in the Quest for Effective SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Vaccines

“…Many nanoparticles are highly stable and less prone to degradation than other constructs such as “naked” protein, peptide, DNA and RNA vaccines ( 116 , 118 ). Selected antigens, which may be proteins or nucleic acid, can either be attached to the surface of the nanoparticles or combined in the particle core.…”

“…A number of the protein and nucleic acid-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates use nanocarriers to package the vaccine product to improve stability and ensure efficient antigen processing ( 118 ). As mentioned above, Novavax's full length S protein construct NVX-CoV2373 is a nanoparticle vaccine and the majority of mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are packaged LNPs, including mRNA-1273 and BNT162.…”

Identification of key genes in SARS-CoV-2 patients on bioinformatics analysis

“…Moreover, the understanding of mechanisms of anti-virus immunity is limited 2 . COVID-19 genome sequence homology with SARS-CoV is 77% and has the potential to become a seasonal disease 3 . COVID-19 is a troubling disease with the feature of high infection rate, long incubation period, and atypical symptoms 4 .…”