Low energy nebulisation preserves integrity of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines for respiratory delivery
Authors: Cees J. M. van Rijn, Killian E. Vlaming, Reinout A. Bem, Rob J. Dekker, Albert Poortinga, Timo Breit, Selina van Leeuwen, Wim A. Ensink, Kelly van Wijnbergen, John L. van Hamme, Daniel Bonn & Teunis B. H. Geijtenbeek
Journal: Nature Scientific Report, Volume 13(1), 2023
Abstract: Nebulisation of mRNA therapeutics can be used to directly target the respiratory tract.
A promising prospect is that mucosal administration of lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-based mRNA vaccines may lead to a more efficient protection against respiratory viruses.
However, the nebulisation process can rupture the LNP vehicles and degrade the mRNA molecules inside. Here we present a novel nebulisation method able to preserve substantially the integrity of vaccines, as tested with two SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines.
We compare the new method with well-known nebulisation methods used for medical respiratory applications. We find that a lower energy level in generating LNP droplets using the new nebulisation method helps safeguard the integrity of the LNP and vaccine.
By comparing nebulisation techniques with different energy dissipation levels we find that LNPs and mRNAs can be kept largely intact if the energy dissipation remains below a threshold value, for LNP integrity 5–10 J/g and for mRNA integrity 10–20 J/g for both vaccines.
