Room-Temp Vaccines Can Reach Remote Areas

Scientists have developed three simple and inexpensive additives to stabilize vaccines at room temperature for a long time, an advance that will allow them to be shipped to remote areas in developing countries. Researchers from Supramolecular Nanomaterials and Interfaces Laboratory (SUNMIL) in Switzerland were able to achieve this by using minute quantities of nanoparticles, polyethylene glycol, or higher amounts of sucrose. The study addressed viral vector vaccines, the most common type of vaccine, which normally only last a few days at room temperature. At that point, the viral components of the vaccines lose their structural integrity. The researchers applied their methods to vaccines that are currently in development. They were able to stabilize a vaccine against Chikungunya for 10 days, and then successfully inoculated mice with it.