Researchers Developing DNA-based Nasal Spray COVID-19 Vaccine

Researchers at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, ON, Canada) are developing a DNA-based vaccine that can be delivered through a nasal spray. The vaccine will work by using bacteriophage, a process that will allow the vaccine to replicate within bacteria already in the body and is being designed to target tissues in the nasal cavity and lower respiratory tract. The team has completed design of the bacteriophage delivery system and is currently modifying this system to apply to COVID-19. Additional design of components and further testing will take place later this year. Upon completion, the team aims to have the DNA-based vaccine enter cells in targeted tissues and cause them to produce a virus-like particle (VLP) that will stimulate an immune response in people.

The VLP will look similar to the structure of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus which causes COVID-19), but is harmless. This similarity will activate the body’s natural immune response to protect against viral infections comparable to the VLP, including SARS-CoV-2. It will also bind to receptors that SARS-CoV-2 would bind to, limiting the possible sites for transmission. By causing these changes in the body, the vaccine will build immunity against COVID-19 and decrease the severity of infections in progress – serving as both a therapeutic and a vaccine.


Every detail of the vaccine, from ensuring the bacteriophage target specific cells in the respiratory tract to creating a minimal VLP to impersonate SARS-CoV-2, is specifically engineered by the researchers and requires testing. To achieve the design of such a complex project, one team is designing the nanomedication that will be delivered by the nasal spray, which is currently being tested, while another team’s lab is constructing and purifying the VLP and boosting immunity following the initial administration of the therapeutic vaccine.

“When complete, our DNA-based vaccine will be administered non-invasively as a nasal spray that delivers nanomedicine engineered to immunize and decrease COVID-19 infections,” said Roderick Slavcev, a professor in the School of Pharmacy who specializes in designing vaccines, pharmaceuticals and gene-therapy treatments. “This research combines the expertise of many and leverages existing technology developed by my team, which we’re reconfiguring for a COVID-19 application.”

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