Nanoparticle version of coronavirus protein may be the key to a COVID-19 vaccine

Researchers at the University at Buffalo (NY, USA) have published an article in Advanced Materials discussing how the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can be converted into particulate form to induce strongly neutralizing antibody responses against the novel coronavirus in animal studies. Johnathan Lovell (University at Buffalo), the lead author of the research, explained: “[It would be] appealing if a vaccine could induce high-levels of antibodies against the RBD…One way to achieve this goal is to use the RBD protein itself as an antigen, that is, the component of the vaccine that the immune response will be...