MIT scientists use a new type of nanoparticle to make vaccines more powerful

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School have shown that a type of nanoparticle called a metal organic framework can provoke a strong immune response by activating the innate immune system – the body’s first line of defense against any pathogen – through cell proteins called toll-like receptors. In a study of mice, the researchers showed that this metal organic framework could successfully encapsulate and deliver part of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, while also acting as an adjuvant once the metal organic framework is broken down inside cells. An adjuvant is a molecule that helps to boost the immune system’s response to a protein.