A Nasal Spray Could Be The Answer To COVID-19

A March 24, 2023 article appearing in the journal Nature Communications, describes the invention of an intranasal spray treatment based on a molecule called TriSb92 that may protect people from getting all variants of COVID-19, SARS and any future coronaviruses that evolve. The molecule remains stable in room environemnts, is easy-to-manufacture, and could serve as the first line fo defence in fighting the virus.

Why a nasal spray?

Because COVID-19 spreads through the air with its most common entry path through our airways. That’s the reason all of our testing to date has involved nasal swabs whether PCR or rapid detection. The epithelial cells in the lining of our noses is the place where the virus first lodges and incubate before finding its into the rest of our bodies. Our epithelial cells are most in peril from the initial viral onslaught and in terms of complications as it spreads. And epithelial cells line all of our organs including the lungs, and heart, and blood vessels. So an anti-COVID neutralizer used at the point of viral entry would be an efficient preventive. And a nose spray delivery system would make the application very simple.

So far, TriSb92 is working in animal model studies. It identifies an area on the spike protein common to all variants of the virus. Spraying into the nose prevents infections even a few hours after exposure. Developed at the University of Helsinki, the TriSb92 nasal spray can be stored at room temperature and remains potent for at least 18 months.

A press release from the University quotes Anna Mäkelä, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Virology. She is the lead author of the article published last week. She notes that targeting the “inhibitory effect of the TriSb92 molecule to a site of the coronavirus spike protein common to all variants of the virus makes it possible to effectively inhibit the ability of all known variants, Omicron included, to infect people.” She comments further noting that TriSb92 can prevent SARS, the coronavirus from the global epidemic of 2004. And she expresses confidence in the nasal spray treatment to protect humans from “entirely new coronaviruses that may threaten to cause pandemics.”

Kalle Saksela is a professor in the Department of Virology at the University. Mäkelä’s research has been supervised by Saksela who is working on a nasally administered coronavirus vacemphasizeh is expected to go into clinical trials this spring. Both Saksela and Mäkelä empahsize that the nasal spray is not a substitute for being vaccinimmune-compromised-19, but rather a preventive.

When TriSb92 psses human clinical trbeforewill offer immune compromised individuals vulnerable to the virus, with a preventive spray they can use before going to a social event. It also should prove helpful to people who have not found the vaccines as effective in preventing them from getting COVID-19. And should there of recurrences of COVID-19 or outbreaks of a new coronavirus, it could benefit the general population from egame-changerk.

So let’s hope that the human clinical trials are successful because TriSb92 sounds like a gamechanger for not just dealing with COVID-19 but also acting as a preventive against other coronaviruses.