Intranasal flu vaccine with nanoparticles offers robust protection, researchers find

An influenza vaccine administered through the nose and constructed with nanoparticles that enhance immune response offers strong protection against different influenza virus strains, according to researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University. The intranasal vaccine contributed to multifaceted immune responses, leading to robust cross protection against influenza in mice. The vaccine consists of PEI-HA/CpG nanoparticles. PEI (polyethyleneimine), a robust and versatile delivery system, can simultaneously carry antigens (hemagglutinin, HA) that induce an immune response in the body, and adjuvants (CpG) that enhance the body’s immune response to an antigen for optimal immunoenhancement. These comprehensive immune responses and cross protection were long lasting, exhibiting defense from influenza virus over six months after immunization. The findings are published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Intranasal vaccination is an ideal approach for infectious respiratory diseases such as influenza. Seasonal influenza vaccines generally induce narrow immune responses that rapidly decline, which leaves...