New nano coating could preserve vaccines and save millions of lives

The delivery and storage of vaccines poses a big challenge for public health officials in remote locations and the developing world. Most vaccines are stable below or around room-temperature, but they degrade over time if not refrigerated. This challenge often leads to wastage and leaves vulnerable patients without the life-saving treatments they need. Estimates suggest that more than 1.5 million children under five die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases, including rotavirus, measles, tetanus, meningococcal disease and whopping cough. Costs for the transportation and storage of vaccines are also very high – recent reports suggest these can run to as much as $200 million a year. Now, for the first time, scientists at Bath are working on developing a ‘nano-coating’ that would protect a vaccine from its environment both in transit and for storage. Using the latest chemistry advances, researchers hope to show how nano-silica can be grown around individual vaccine molecules, enabling...