Towards novel nano-based vaccine platforms for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern: Advances, challenges and limitations

Sally A Helmy; Rasha M El-Morsi; Soha A M Helmy; Soha M El-Masry

doi:10.1016/j.jddst.2022.103762

Towards novel nano-based vaccine platforms for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern: Advances, challenges and limitations

J Drug Deliv Sci Technol. 2022 Oct:76:103762. doi: 10.1016/j.jddst.2022.103762. Epub 2022 Sep 8.

Authors

Sally A Helmy^{1

2}, Rasha M El-Morsi³, Soha A M Helmy^{4

5}, Soha M El-Masry²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical and Hospital Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Taibah University, AL-Madinah AL-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt.
³ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Delta University for Science and Technology, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Languages and Translation, College of Arts and Humanities, Taibah University, AL-Madinah AL-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Education, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.

Abstract

Vaccination is the most effective tool available for fighting the spread of COVID-19. Recently, emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 have led to growing concerns about increased transmissibility and decreased vaccine effectiveness. Currently, many vaccines are approved for emergency use and more are under development. This review highlights the ongoing advances in the design and development of different nano-based vaccine platforms. The challenges, limitations, and ethical consideration imposed by these nanocarriers are also discussed. Further, the effectiveness of the leading vaccine candidates against all SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern are highlighted. The review also focuses on the possibility of using an alternative non-invasive routes of vaccine administration using micro and nanotechnologies to enhance vaccination compliance and coverage.

Keywords: COVID −19; Nanocarriers; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccine platforms; Variants.

Publication types

Review