A team led by Professor Ronit Satchi-Fainaro of Tel Aviv University (TAU) collaborated with Professor Helena Florindo of the University of Lisbon to develop an innovative COVID-19 vaccine that represents a game-changer in the fight against pandemics.
The key advantage of this new nanovaccine is that, in addition to being inexpensive and effective, it can be stored at room temperature and administered as a nasal spray.
The development of this nanovaccine is based on more than a decade of research into cancer vaccines, which during the pandemic was adapted to identify and attack the coronavirus using bioinformatics tools and synthetic nanoparticles, without depending on the complete expression of proteins through messenger RNA, as is the case with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
The simplicity of this technology is crucial for developing countries, where cold chains represent a significant logistical challenge, and also because it eliminates the need for syringes and trained personnel.