Inhalable vaccines for the flu and pneumonia use nanoparticles for painless access, extended shelf life

Hoping to avoid the refrigeration costs and pain brought on by injectable vaccines, a team of scientists from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have teamed up to develop a nanoparticle version of certain vaccines that patients can one day inhale. The team’s study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The new vaccine vehicle relies on tiny nanoparticles, which the team says is an improvement on the needle-and-serum method because impoverished countries typically don’t have the means to house vaccines for extended periods of time. The new version also holds the potential to improve patient satisfaction since it makes no use of needles. Instead, patients can inhale a predetermined dosage to combat illnesses of the lungs, such as influenza and pneumonia. “Administration through the inhaled route mimics the natural path of infection for airborne pathogens and will activate the immune...