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Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccine development approaches consist of viral vector vaccines, DNA vaccine, RNA vaccine, live attenuated virus, and recombinant proteins, which elicit a specific immune response. The use of nanoparticles displaying antigen is one of the alternative approaches to conventional vaccines. This is due to the fact that nano-based vaccines are stable, able to target, form images, and offer an opportunity to enhance the immune responses. The diameters of ultrafine nanoparticles are in the range of 1–100 nm. The application of nanotechnology on vaccine design provides precise fabrication of nanomaterials with desirable properties and ability to eliminate undesirable features. To be successful, nanomaterials must be uptaken into the cell, especially into the target and able to modulate cellular functions at the subcellular levels. The advantages of nano-based vaccines are the ability to protect a cargo such as RNA, DNA, protein, or synthesis substance and have enhanced stability in a broad range of pH, ambient temperatures, and humidity for long-term storage. Moreover, nano-based vaccines can be engineered to overcome biological barriers such as nonspecific distribution in order to elicit functions in antigen presenting cells. In this review, we will summarize on the developing COVID-19 vaccine strategies and how the nanotechnology can enhance antigen presentation and strong immunogenicity using advanced technology in nanocarrier to deliver antigens. The discussion about their safe, effective, and affordable vaccines to immunize against COVID-19 will be highlighted.

Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 24 June 2021
Revised: 19 August 2021
Accepted: 19 August 2021
Published: 09 October 2021
Issue date: March 2022

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by OCSC Royal Thai Government-UCAS Scholarship under research collaboration between National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC), Thailand, and National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China (No. P1852764). This work was also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) key projects (Nos. 31630027 and 32030060), NSFC international collaboration key project (No. 51861135103), and NSFC-German Research Foundation (DFG) project (No. 31761133013). The authors also appreciate the support by “the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Basic Research Cooperation Project” (No. 19JCZDJC64100), and National Key Research & Development Program of China (No. 2018YFE0117800). The authors are grateful for Prof. Dr. S. Seraphin at the Professional Authorship Center, Thailand National Science, and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) for fruitful discussions on the manuscript preparation.

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