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Hepatitis B affects millions of people every year. Everyone is at risk, especially young children. Most people in developing countries do not have the opportunity to be vaccinated because of the high cost and stable environmental conditions required to store vaccines. Thus, the researchers tried to develop an oral or powdered vaccine, because these can easily be administered and are cheaper than the injections. At present, no attempt has been made to create this vaccine against hepatitis B.
A team of physicists from the Niels Bohr Institute, the University of Sao Paolo and the Butantan Institute has developed a method to create an optimal oral vaccine against hepatitis B.
"We used a technology commonly used in solid state physics to explore the behavior of the vaccine in a particular type of encapsulation." This allowed for crucial information that would otherwise not have been able to be obtained. With the knowledge of other disciplines, entirely new possibilities can emerge, "says Heloisa Bordallo, Associate Professor at the Niels Bohr Institute, and one of the two leading authors of the research article. published in Scientific reports.
Oral vaccines are difficult to manufacture because the material must be encapsulated to protect it from the harsh environments of the digestive system. It must reach the target destination in the body. Brazilian researchers have long known that the SBA-15 silica-based material is optimized for encapsulating a hepatitis B vaccine. They simply do not know the mechanism of this protection. They also do not know why there are cases where their vaccine is not effective.
The team of Danish physicists has been able to provide technical expertise by combining an X-ray and neutron imaging technique. They produced 3D images of the inside of the SBA-15 silica. The researchers were able to visualize the behavior of the vaccine inside the scales. In addition, they were able to visualize that the vaccine was likely to clump into the silica, making it less effective.
"We now know what makes the vaccine less effective and how to optimize it.We know exactly how much vaccine to inject into the silica capsule so that it works better in the body and clinical trials can be better interpreted" Heloisa explains. Bordallo.
Martin K. Rasmuss, one of the leading authors, said the vaccine had great potential for developing countries.
"Getting rid of needles that are stuffed into the arms of small children is a benefit in itself, it also eliminates the need to sterilize needles and possible side effects such as swelling and infections." And unlike the vaccine used today, It is not necessary to refrigerate the vaccine.Thus, the costs will be reduced and the administration of the vaccine will be facilitated. "
Scientists hope that this 3D technology also allows the development of oral vaccines against other diseases.
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