Nwagwu Chinekwu Sherridan, Ugwu Chinenye Nnenna, Ogbonna John Dike Nwabueze, Onugwu Adaeze Linda, Agbo Chinazom Precious, Echezona Adaeze Chidiebere, Ezeibe Ezinwanne Nneoma, Uzondu Samuel, Kenechukwu Frankline Chimaobi, Akpa Paul Achile, Momoh Mumuni Audu, Nnamani Petra Obioma, Tarirai Clemence, Ofokansi Kenneth Chibuzor, Attama Anthony Amaechi
Drug Delivery & Nanomedicines Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu state, Nigeria.
Methods Microbiol. 2022;50:151-188. doi: 10.1016/bs.mim.2022.03.001. Epub 2022 Apr 18.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 has been one of the greatest challenges modern medicine and science has ever faced. It has affected millions of people around the world and altered human life and activities as we once knew. The high prevalence as well as an extended period of incubations which usually does not present with symptoms have played a formidable role in the transmission and infection of millions. A lot of research has been carried out on developing suitable treatment and effective preventive measures for the control of the pandemic. Preventive strategies which include social distancing, use of masks, washing of hands, and contact tracing have been effective in slowing the spread of the virus; however, the infectious nature of the SARS-COV-2 has made these strategies unable to eradicate its spread. In addition, the continuous increase in the number of cases and death, as well as the appearance of several variants of the virus, has necessitated the development of effective and safe vaccines in a bid to ensure that human activities can return to normalcy. Nanotechnology has been of great benefit in the design of vaccines as nano-sized materials have been known to aid the safe and effective delivery of antigens as well as serve as suitable adjuvants to potentiate responses to vaccines. There are only four vaccine candidates currently approved for use in humans while many other candidates are at various levels of development. This review seeks to provide updated information on the current nano-technological strategies employed in the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
2019年新冠疫情的爆发是现代医学和科学所面临的最大挑战之一。它影响了全球数百万人，并改变了我们曾经熟知的人类生活和活动。高发病率以及通常无症状的较长潜伏期在数百万人的传播和感染中起到了巨大作用。为控制疫情，人们开展了大量关于开发合适治疗方法和有效预防措施的研究。包括保持社交距离、佩戴口罩、洗手和接触者追踪在内的预防策略在减缓病毒传播方面已见成效；然而，SARS-CoV-2的传染性使得这些策略无法根除其传播。此外，病例数和死亡人数的持续增加以及该病毒多种变体的出现，使得开发有效且安全的疫苗成为必要，以确保人类活动能够恢复正常。纳米技术在疫苗设计中大有裨益，因为已知纳米尺寸的材料有助于安全有效地递送抗原，并作为合适的佐剂增强对疫苗的反应。目前仅有四种候选疫苗被批准用于人类，而许多其他候选疫苗正处于不同的研发阶段。本综述旨在提供有关当前用于开发新冠疫苗的纳米技术策略的最新信息。
