An experimental flu vaccine consisting of billions of tiny spherical sacs that carry infection-fighting proteins throughout the body has proven effective in preclinical studies. The vaccine has the potential to improve the effectiveness of seasonal flu vaccines, accelerate vaccine production timelines and increase vaccine supplies because of its small dosage.

Described in a study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the vaccine has the potential to:

• Improve the effectiveness of seasonal flu vaccines, which typically work 40-60% of the time, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Take less time to produce large quantities because, unlike most seasonal flu vaccines, it is not created in embryonated chicken eggs.
• Use smaller doses, thereby increasing vaccine supplies, which can be critical given the unpredictable nature of influenza.

«The results are very encouraging,» says the study’s senior author, Jonathan Lovell, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University at Buffalo.

«Typically, flu vaccines contain either deactivated microbes that cause influenza, or they are based on weakened forms of the disease. The vaccine we’re developing is a recombinant protein nanoparticle vaccine that stimulates a strong immune response,» Lovell says.

Key to the vaccine’s success is a liposome Lovell and colleagues created called cobalt-porphyrin-phospholipid, or CoPoP.

These tiny spherical sacs, which are small enough to be considered nanoparticles, form the backbone of what is known pharmaceutical parlance as a vaccine platform, which is any underlying technology used to develop multiple vaccines.

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Materials provided by University at Buffalo. Original written by Cory Nealon. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.