(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-05)
Phang, Katelynn
Although many studies have been done on antibodies and vaccines, little is known about the transfection methods of nanoparticles capable of carrying antigens into cells to create effective mRNA vaccines. Although mRNA vaccines, particularly lipid nanoparticle based COVID vaccines, have been recognized for their rapid development potential, high potency, and lower production costs, there are still many considerations that must be made such as efficacy, side effect incidence, and persistence. This study seeks to elucidate the potential effectiveness of polymer nanoparticles, particularly chitosan nanoparticles, for mRNA vaccine use to improve upon current standard lipid nanoparticles. The results from uptake, ROS, and RNS experiments indicate that chitosan, a polymer nanoparticle, exhibits desired uptake but not mRNA expression. As such, further studies such as gene knockouts will need to be done to clarify exactly why the mRNA expression does not reach desired levels.