| Notwithstanding the wishful thinking of certain irresponsible and incompetent public figures, the only options to control and deal with the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are fast, cheap, reliable, and portable means of diagnosing COVID-19 infection (the name of disease caused by SARS-CoV-2); therapeutics to treat the infected; and vaccines to rapidly build up immunization of large parts of the global population. | |
| In a previous Nanowerk Spotlight we covered nanotechnology-based approaches to testing for COVID-19 infections in high-risk individuals. Today we look at the role of nanotechnology in countering the conventional limitations of antiviral and biological therapeutics. Nanocarriers also have potential to design risk-free and effective immunization strategies for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates such as protein constructs and nucleic acids. | |
| A review paper in ACS Nano (“Nanotechnology for COVID-19: Therapeutics and Vaccine Research”) provides systematic information on nanomedicine strategies employed to deliver small molecules, biologicals (specifically RNAi) and various combination therapies. Some strategies are also proposed for the rational development of this nanomedicine approach and its clinical translation. Since most of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates are sophisticated biological moieties (DNA, mRNA, recombinant proteins, engineered APCs etc.), the scope of nanocarrier delivery becomes highly pertinent. | |
| The authors first describe in great detail the current state of knowledge about the virus’s life cycle, pathophysiology and structure, and then address the organ systems primarily affected by SARS-CoV-2 (it affects the respiratory system first and then spreads systemically to the heart, liver and kidney). | |
Developing SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics |
|
| Today there is no exclusive antiviral treatment against SARS-CoV-2 although therapeutic and prophylactic strategies to deal with existing and potentially upcoming coronavirus infections are under development in research laboratories worldwide. | |
| Using recently available genetic information and protein structure modelling, several therapeutic strategies based on drug repurposing are projected for the immediate treatment of infected patients. | |
| According to the authors, target identification to halt the pathogenesis of the viral infection holds the key in this development: “Viral protease (3CLpro and PLpro), host cell produced protease (TMPRSS2), RNA polymerase (RdRp), interaction site of viral S protein with host receptor ACE2 are among the major targets identified for repurposing already existing antiviral molecules and new small molecules under development.” | |
| Other proposed strategies are targeting the SARS-CoV-2 surface S protein using neutralizing antibody (nAbs) and targeting the SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA genome using RNA interference (RNAi) or antisense oligonucleotides. | |
Developing a vaccine against COVID-19 |
|
| Massive efforts are being employed across the world to develop safe and effective vaccines and several vaccine candidates (see Table 1 in the review for details) have already made it to human clinical trials as a result of fast-tracked development strategies and advanced vaccine technological platforms (read more here in The New England Journal of Medicine: “Developing Covid-19 Vaccines at Pandemic Speed”). | |
| Similar to what researchers are doing in developing SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics, the target strategy for most of the vaccine candidates is to induce nAbs against the viral S protein, averting the ACE2 mediated host uptake. | |
| In the case of SARS-CoV vaccine development, higher nAbs titers and better protection was reported with S protein subunit vaccines when compared to any other target strategy. SARS/MERS vaccine development research suggests S protein subunits, RBD of the S1 subunit and S protein/gene as the most preferred target sites. | |
| The development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates are relying on several high-tech platforms including attenuated and inactivated viruses, replicating and non replicating viral vectors, DNA and mRNA, virus-like particles and recombinant protein-based approaches. |
Image Credit: Envato/ Amanda Scott
News This Week
Brazilian Tree Compounds Fight COVID-19 on Multiple Fronts
Scientists found compounds in a Brazilian tree that hit SARS-CoV-2 on multiple fronts, revealing a promising new lead in the search for COVID-19 treatments. Researchers have found that galloylquinic acids extracted from the leaves [...]
Cutting Two Amino Acids Slowed Prostate Cancer in Mice
A newly identified link between amino acid metabolism and cholesterol production may help prostate tumors adapt to hormone therapy. Prostate cancer can find ways around treatments designed to deprive tumors of the hormones they [...]
Largest-Ever Physics Survey Raises New Doubts About Our Model of the Universe
Physicists around the world remain deeply divided on key mysteries of the universe, from dark matter to quantum gravity. The standard cosmological model failed to gain majority support, and no leading theory dominated the [...]
Scientists Just Overturned a 100-Year-Old Belief About Bacteria in the Lungs
New findings raise questions about the role of microbes living in the lungs. More than 35 trillion bacteria live throughout the human body, forming microbiomes in the gut, mouth, lungs, skin, and urogenital tract. [...]
GHCE Concept
From the preface of the book Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artificial Intelligence, Edited by Frank Boehm: Since the publication of my first book (Nanomedical Device and Systems [...]
Novartis, Ionis drug failure spurs questions
Pelacarsen didn’t protect heart health despite lowering levels of a protein particle, “Lp(a),” in a large clinical trial — a result with important implications for cardiovascular drug research. Dive Brief: An RNA drug from [...]
New injectable treatment helps the brain rebuild after stroke
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have created an injectable biomaterial that may help the brain recover from damage left behind by an ischemic stroke. In experiments with mice, the material transformed the cavity created [...]
Scientists Discover a Hidden “Immune Organ” Inside the Skull
Researchers discovered lymph node-like immune hubs inside skull bone marrow that appear to act as rapid-response centers for the brain. For decades, the brain was thought to operate largely apart from the immune system. [...]
Engineered tRNAs and lipid nanoparticles target nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis
Researchers have developed a potential new approach for treating a form of cystic fibrosis caused by so-called nonsense mutations, combining chemically modified transfer RNAs with lipid nanoparticles designed to deliver the therapy directly to [...]
New pancreatic cancer drug carries a $39,800 monthly list price
A groundbreaking treatment for one of the most common forms of pancreatic cancer has been approved in pill form by the FDA. Revolution Medicines’ oral tablet daraxonrasib, branded as Rasonque, reduced the risk of [...]
Researchers Have Discovered a New Way To Reduce Chronic Nerve Pain
A cancer-linked protein called BRAF may help drive chronic nerve pain, and existing cancer drugs targeting it reduced pain sensitivity in preclinical models. Chronic nerve pain can persist long after an injury and often [...]
Our books now available worldwide!
Online Sellers other than Amazon, Routledge, and IOPP Indigo Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artifcial Intelligence Global Health Care Equivalency In The Age Of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine And Artificial [...]
Quantum-Enabled Regenerative Health: Reimagining Wellness, Precision Health and Longevity Medicine
Introduction Healthcare is approaching a frontier where the quantum portfolio could influence not only how disease is diagnosed and treated, but how health itself is measured, modeled, predicted and preserved. Quantum computing, quantum simulation, [...]
FDA Clears First-of-Its-Kind Nonmedication Treatment for PTSD
The FDA has cleared a system that uses brain activity data to personalize magnetic stimulation for PTSD, adding a new nonmedication treatment option. Every day in the United States, approximately 17.5 veterans die by suicide, [...]
FDA approves breakthrough drug to treat advanced pancreatic cancer
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on Wednesday a drug that could extend the survival of those with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The drug, called daraxonrasib, will be sold under the brand name Rasonque [...]
AI Decodes a Hidden DNA Signal Linked to Disease-Causing Mutations
Machine learning identifies the likely “initiator” and enables new predictions about DNA mutations that can cause disease. Every human cell depends on tens of thousands of genes being switched on at the right time [...]
