RNA-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 Chapter uri icon

abstract

  • The devastating impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, imposed the challenge of developing new vaccine candidates in record time. Currently, besides vaccines candidates based on adenovirus vectors (i.e., the ChAdOx1-S formulation from Astra Zeneca-Oxford University) and inactivated viruses (i.e., the candidate from Sinovac), RNA-based vaccines have positioned themselves as outstanding candidates with a couple of vaccines approved in several countries for emergency use and other in advanced clinical trials. Overall, these vaccines are based on RNA that is delivered efficiently by liposomes to mediate the expression of the spike protein from SARS-CoV-2 in the cells of patients. In the present chapter, the paths for the development and clinical assessment of such vaccines are described. Given that liposomes are used as delivery vehicles, the synthesis and functionalization approaches for such nanomaterials are elaborated. Perspectives for the road ahead are discussed, including possible innovations to achieve sterilizing immunity (such as improving vaccine formulation by targeting approaches and assessing alternative immunization routes) as a critical issue that will ultimately define the efficacy of RNA vaccines in the long-term fight against SARS-CoV-2. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

publication date

  • 2022-01-01