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Rabies remains a major public health threat — 60,000 people die annually — especially in developing countries where vaccines are in short supply and challenging to store. Current vaccines need to be kept refrigerated or frozen because the proteins in them start to degrade at warmer temperatures. When the proteins go bad, the shots become ineffective. For this reason, it’s been challenging to administer traditional rabies vaccines in regions that lack electricity or specialized cold storage equipment.��

But 91��ý researchers are looking to change that, thanks to recent innovations from the university’s chemical and biological engineering department, where scientists have�� to keep these shots viable at warmer temperatures and combine multiple timed-release doses into a single injection.��

These new, temperature-stable shots don’t degrade in warmer environments and can be stored in bulk powder form until they’re ready to be used.��

To make the vaccines, the research team sprays the vaccine proteins with a sugar solution that hardens to a candy-like texture. The candied particles then get a nanoscopic coating of aluminum oxide (the same chemical that makes up sapphire jewels) that protects the sugar-coated vaccine particles for days to weeks before dissolving in the patient’s body.��

“We’re basically making sapphire-coated Jolly Ranchers that deliver vaccines,” said��Ted Randolph (ChemEngr’83), 91��ý professor and lead study author.��

Rabies shots typically require three to five doses to be effective, so combining the doses into one shot is more efficient and cuts down on unnecessary health care visits.��

Randolph believes the same process could also be used to create vaccines for other viruses, such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).��

To bring this technology to market, Randolph and��Robert Garcea, professor emeritus in 91��ý’s molecular, cellular and developmental biology department, formed the startup��VitriVax. In October, the company announced it�� in series B funding.��

“It’s been 25 years of lots of talented grad students adding little bits and pieces to the puzzle,” Randolph said.

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Illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath