A sugar–glass cartridge can store vaccines without refrigeration.
Scientists at Nova Bio-Pharma Technologies and the University of Oxford have developed a new way of preserving vaccines without refrigeration by sealing the vaccine’s live viruses inside glass made of sugar.
Currently, vaccines need to be stored in a fridge or freezer which means there is a need for electricity supply and refrigeration trucks for distribution as exposure to inappropriate temperatures can reduce the vaccine potency and efficiency.
The new technology developed by manufacturer Nova Bio-Pharma Technologies could improve the distribution of vaccines to tropical countries that may lack the infrastructure necessary to keep vaccines stable.
The technique involves mixing the vaccine’s live viruses with two sugars, sucrose and trehalose. The solution is then dried on a plastic film that hardens into a sugar-glass cartridge. The vaccine is immobilized and kept in suspended animation inside the sugar-glass.
The trapped vaccines in the sugar-glass can be stored at temperatures of 45 degrees celsius without any degradation for months. When needed the cartridge is simply screwed into a standard vaccine syringe for injection.
To prepare the vaccine for injection, the glass is flushed with water and quickly dissolves reactivating the vaccine.
Further testing is needed to see if the sugar-glass can withstand temperature in extremes and physical conditions typically seen in overseas shipping.
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