A new kind of vaccine is currently being developed by a group of scientists who received a $100K grant. If successful, this could be a potentially life-saving public health innovation, especially with its convenience.
The compound found in breath-freshening film is being utilized by Biointerfaces Institute researchers at McMaster University to create a more cost-effective, simple way to administer vaccines in low-income countries.
Lead researcher Carlos Filipe says that he hopes that the tabs developed by his team will eliminate the need to refrigerate vaccines even in storage or during transportation overseas.
According to Filipe, about 80% of vaccination costs is distribution. Filipe is a professor of chemical engineering specializing in molecular biology. "We are trying to get around that," he says.
Filipe and his team have been awardedd a $100,000 research grant from Grand Challenges Canada, a federally sponsored group that funds studies that focus on global health.
Vaccines typically contain genetic material from the virus or bacteria that they are tasked to combat. Currently, most require refrigeration so the active ingredients do not deteriorate.
However, a number of developing communities are still in the process of improving their electricity service, which makes refrigeration a difficult task. For instance, parts in India experience regular power outages, which can deteriorate the ingredients in vaccines. This is also true in many third-world nations, where electricity is still considered a luxury than a commodity.
The researchers discovered that it is possible to preserve vaccines at room temperature by infusing them into a mixture with pullulan, an edible polymer found in fresh-breath strips.
Pullulan is derived from a common type of fungus and normally rests in a solid state but dissolves easily in water.
According to Filipe, creating the film was like making Jell-O. An enzyme os added to the solution, then powder is added and a film forms itself.