Nanoparticle vaccine for COVID-19 spurs robust immune response in preclinical tests The novel vaccine technology, developed at Scripps Research, uses virus-like protein nanoparticles to elicit high levels of protective antibodies.
September 21, 2020
LA JOLLA, CA In a new study that demonstrates the promise of a novel vaccine approach for COVID-19, Scripps Research scientist Jiang Zhu, PhD, showed that his protein nanoparticle technology successfully triggered a strong immune response in mice. Zhu, who co-founded the spinoff company Ufovax to commercialize the technology and manufacturing platform, says he hopes to advance the vaccine into clinical trials early next year.
The nanoparticle vaccine technology leverages a unique design that's unlike the majority of other COVID-19 vaccine candidates now in clinical testing. Each nanoparticle in the vaccine mimics the natural ball-like shape of a virus, which the immune system is trained to immediately recognize, explains Zhu, associate professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology.
These microscopic spheres are then studded with spike proteins resembling those of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Spike proteins are the tools this virus uses to efficiently attach to and infect healthy cells, so we need the immune system to recognize them as the enemy, Zhu says. Our vaccine design enables immune cells to encounter these proteins in a more natural conformation embedded on a spherical particle so they'll know what to do when they face the virus in real life.
By contrast, most experimental COVID-19 vaccines rely on full-length spike proteins that have been modified to remain stable in the body as they interact with the immune system; they are not connected to a virus-like particle. Thus, they may not generate strong enough of an antibody response to prevent COVID-19, Zhu says.
In his pursuit of a safer and more effective path to COVID-19 immunity, Zhu designed spike proteins and attached them to the spherical protein nanoparticles through an elegant self-assembly process he says will ensure the forming a ball-shape particle of a fixed size and enable efficient vaccine production on an industrial scale.
Notably, as part of their work to optimize the spike protein, he and his team identified a problematic element of the spike called the HR2 stalk, which is a flexible hinge connecting the spike to the virus surface, and decided to delete that segment from spike proteins used in the vaccine.
The scientists then tested the nanoparticle vaccine against the altered spike protein known as S2P that's used in most other vaccines, as well as against their own engineered spike protein. To determine efficacy of each approach, they measured antibody responses in mice.
Zhu's nanoparticle vaccine elicited neutralizing antibodies at levels of up to ten times greater than the S2P spike proteins alone and induced critically needed T-cell immunity. The research appears in bioRxiv, an open-access repository of studies not yet published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Our study provides a promising next-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate that is ready for evaluation in human trials, Zhu says.
Zhu has previously used his nanoparticle technology to develop investigational vaccines for other infectious diseases including SARS, MERS, HIV, RSV, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis.
The study, Self-assembling nanoparticles presenting receptor binding domain and stabilized spike as next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, was authored by Linling He, Xiaohe Lin, Ying Wang, Ciril Abraham, Cindy Sou, Timothy Ngo, Yi Zhang, Ian Wilson and Jiang Zhu.
The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health [AI129698 and AI140844] and Ufovax. Ufovax holds exclusive intellectual property rights to the technology and several vaccine products, including for COVID-19.
COVID-19 Zhu, Jiang
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
21/01/2026
Wisycom, a global leader in advanced wireless RF solutions, launches its new wideband antenna matrix, MATF, which supports RF and fiber for demanding multi-zone...
21/01/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate how it is powering scalable, future-ready live production at FOMEX 2026, taking place February 2 4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Exhibi...
21/01/2026
BCNEXXT, the developers of the advanced playout platform Vipe, today announced that OKAST, the monetization-first OTT platform provider, is using BCNEXXT's ...
21/01/2026
Revamped design enables advanced capabilities, leading with powerful IP to HDMI conversion
Magewell, developer of innovative, high-performance video I/O and I...
21/01/2026
Jan 20th 2026, Changsha Kiloview today announced the launch of two major additions to its AV-over-IP ecosystem: the AVX24-4 Media HUB and KiloLink Station, ma...
21/01/2026
Latest version of enterprise-class Buttons brings simple, coherent control to more than 700 professional devices and applications
Bitfocus, the specialist in ...
21/01/2026
Clear-Com is pleased to announce the appointment of Kari Eythorsson as the new Regional Sales Manager (RSM) for Southeast Asia & Australia, based in Singapore,...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Fox as its new Washington Correspondent. Jackie is a multimedia journalist with RT News and has repor...
21/01/2026
From skilled trades to startups, AI's rapid expansion is the beginning of th...
20/01/2026
SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...
20/01/2026
From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...
20/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...
20/01/2026
Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...
20/01/2026
Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...
20/01/2026
State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...
20/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...
20/01/2026
The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance
by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...
20/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...
20/01/2026
Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...
20/01/2026
Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction
Business
20 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
All-C...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting
Elmar Nubbemeyer
VP, Member Product
Product
20 January 2026
Global
Link...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...
19/01/2026
The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...
19/01/2026
New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...
Nanoparticle vaccine for COVID-19 spurs robust immune response in preclinical tests The novel vaccine technology, developed at Scripps Research, uses virus-like protein nanoparticles to elicit high levels of protective antibodies.
