Concept for a nasal spray vaccine


Photographer: Mia Halleröd Palmgren/Chalmers University of Technology

The researchers aim to design a biomimetic nanoparticle that deceives the body´s immune cells to act as if they had encountered a true virus. In fact, they encounter something known as an mRNA, which is a precursor to a harmless element of the virus. In addition, the artificial particle has been provided with both immune enhancers and a targeting protein – a ‘label’, which acts almost as a set of directions, allowing the vaccine to reach only a certain type of immune cell. When activated, the body will hopefully learn to recognise and defend itself against the virus in the future. The test tube in the picture contains the ´label´.

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