I'm my own booster
New technology from MIT allows you to store vaccines inside the body
Stepan Ikaev, Hi-tech+
Scientists from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a new approach to vaccination. Using microparticles, engineers have created a "self—reinforcing vaccine" - a system that injects several doses of different drugs in one injection, and then eventually releases them in the patient's body. In the future, the technology will allow to get rid of revaccination and multicomponent vaccines. Microparticles will inject the first part of the drug immediately, and the rest of the components — after days, weeks and even months.
As MIT Technology Review explains in the article Microparticles could be used to deliver “self-boosting” vaccines, most vaccines, from measles to coronavirus, cannot do without several vaccinations before the recipient begins to be considered fully vaccinated. In order to simplify the work of clinics and hospitals, as well as speed up the service of patients who want to be vaccinated against new strains quickly, a team of engineers has created a platform for vaccination with several components at one time. The new system is a medical instrument, not a vaccine, so it can be used with almost any type of medication.
The technology consists of hollow microparticles made of a biocompatible polymer PLGA – poly (lactic glycolic acid). Medicines are loaded into these microparticles, sealed and turned into hermetic microcapsules by heating. By choosing polymers of different densities, scientists determine how fast they will decompose, and, accordingly, how quickly the drug will be released in the patient's body.
According to the developers, the overall design of microparticles has been tested for several years, and as part of a new study, the team studied in detail the decomposition rate of microcapsules and prepared a base for the production of "self-reinforcing" vaccines.
"If you want a particle to be released after six months for a specific application, we will use the appropriate polymer, or if we want it to be released after two days, we will use another polymer," said Morteza Sarmadi, lead author of the study.
Sarmadi also noted that the new technique is suitable for a long list of vaccines, including drugs based on DNA, RNA or recombinant proteins. The first practical solution of scientists will be a vaccine against polio — it is already being tested on animals.
Article by Sarmadi et al. Experimental and computational understanding of pulsatile release mechanism from biodegradable core-shell microparticles is published in the journal Science Advances – VM.
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