The American Chemical Society journal reported that these are two proposals, still in initial phase but with positive preliminary outcomes, whose key ingredients are virus from plant and bacteria.

In mice, the vaccine candidates triggered high production of neutralizing antibodies against Covid-19. If they prove to be safe and effective in people, the vaccines could be a big game changer for global distribution efforts, including those in rural areas or resource-poor communities. The researchers used cowpea plants and E. coli bacteria to grow millions of copies of the plant virus and bacteriophage, respectively, in the form of ball-shaped nanoparticles. The researchers harvested these nanoparticles and then attached a small piece of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the surface.

The small piece of the spike protein attached to the surface is what stimulates the body to generate an immune response against the coronavirus.

These fridge-free vaccine candidates can be put through fabrication processes that use heat. The team is using such processes to package their vaccines into polymer implants and microneedle patches.

The implants, which are injected underneath the skin and slowly release vaccine over the course of a month, would only need to be administered once. And the microneedle patches, which can be worn on the arm without pain or discomfort, would allow people to self-administer the vaccine.

According to researchers, using plant viruses and bacteriophages to make their vaccines has the advantage they can be easy and cheap to produce on a large scale.

pgh/Pll/msm / rbp