COVID-19 AND NANOVACCINES

Abstract

Infectious and epidemic diseases are one of the most important factors threatening social life. Vaccines have started to be developed to prevent the spread of these diseases among people. In particular, the use of biological substances such as serum or blood transfusion from individuals exposed to the disease has come to the fore in the fight against epidemics. Today, vaccines are recognised as one of the most effective tools in controlling epidemics. Modern vaccines are developed as a result of scientific research and development processes and are widely used worldwide. According to the characteristics of vaccines; live virus, inactivated virus, viral carrier-containing, nucleic acid-based, virus-like particle (VPL), protein subunit vaccines are developed with many different techniques. Nanoparticles (NP) are defined as structures with dimensions of 100 nm and below, which form the basis of nanoscale materials and thus nanotechnology. There are many types of NPs. These include many types of nanoparticles such as liposomes, dendrimers, emulsions, polymeric nanoparticles, quantum dots and carbon nanoparticles. NPs can work both as a drug delivery system to improve antigen processing and as an immunostimulatory adjuvant to induce and enhance protective immunity. NPs provide advantages such as the ability to transport, protect, stabilise and deliver vaccine antigens to the target tissue. In addition, NPs can increase vaccine efficacy by strengthening the immune system response. Nano vaccines have the potential to induce rapid and long-lasting cellular and humoral immunity. Nano vaccines provide more flexibility in reducing the number of doses required. This feature makes them ideal in situations where a large number of organisms will be vaccinated with multiple doses. Vaccine studies for COVID-19 use a variety of techniques, including inactivated virus, attenuated live virus and recombinant protein-based vaccines, as well as new types of vaccines, including RNA, DNA and viral vector-based vaccines. Recently, vaccine strategies for SARS-CoV-2 have been reviewed with a focus on nanotechnology. Many nanoparticle-based vaccine studies are being conducted against COVID-19, the biggest global health crisis of recent times. Nanoparticle-based vaccines will play a critical role in limiting the spread of COVID-19 and will enable the prevention of future outbreaks.