Total budget: 29.835.000 HUF

Project manager: Dr. András Marosi

Duration:
from 1st January 2024. to 31st December 2026.

Summary:
Vaccines provide the most effective way of controlling virus infections. The manufacturing method of vaccines are determining the possibilities of their use and storage time. Currently, the most widely used technology is freeze drying, however, it is expensive, and the viruses needed for the production of vaccines might get damaged due to the process. Among the available alternatives, we plan to investigate the potential of electrospinning and electrospraying in the production of virus vaccines. These techniques work with the 2 / 22 incorporation of viruses into nanometer scale particles that are composed of biodegradable polymers and excipients, all approved in the pharmaceutical industry. The concerned innovative methods are attributed with numerous beneficial properties: vaccine production might be more cost-effective with reduced losses, furthermore the resulted products may have a prolonged shelf life even under unfavorable conditions (e.g. higher temperature). The versatile technology allows the modification of the produced nanocarriers in a way that enhances the efficiency of alternative vaccine administration routes (oral or nasal/pulmonary delivery instead of injections). Such topical vaccine applications primarily promote the more economical animal husbandry, but also play an important role in the control of rabies, a deadly virus infection spreading from animals to humans, as well as in the prevention of certain human viral diseases. Apart from vaccines, development of a more effective formulation of virus-related products might also be essential in such future-oriented therapeutical advances like gene therapies or the so-called superinfection antiviral therapy.