UK SCIENTISTS DEVELOPED NASAL SPRAY THAT PROMISES PROTECTION FROM COVID-19

Tue 01 December 2020:

Masks, soap, hand disinfectant – those are the means we have to protect ourselves from COVID-19. Eventually there will be a vaccine as well, but we may have to wait for it for quite some time.

However, scientists from the University of Birmingham have developed a nasal spray, which can provide effective protection against the COVID-19 virus. Better still, it’s made from already approved compounds.

Medicine takes a long time to develop, because the testing takes a long time. This work can be much shorter, if the new medicine is developed from compounds that are already in use and, therefore, are confirmed as safe. This exact concept should allow this new COVID-19 spray to reach the market reasonably quickly, because it is made from compounds that are already widely approved by regulatory bodies in the UK, Europe and the US.

This spray contains two polysaccharide polymers – an antiviral agent called carrageenan and gellan, which is sticky and helps the medicine to stay in place instead of sliding down the person’s throat. Carrageenan is commonly used in food as a thickening agent, while gellan is also used in a number of other medicines.

This spray works in two ways. Firstly, it traps viruses (and other pathogens) in the nasal passage, because it’s so sticky. From there viruses are eliminated through the usual ways – by blowing nose, sneezing or swallowing. Secondly, the compound coats the virus, preventing it from entering cells. Not only does this reduce the viral load on the body, it also means that viruses are less likely to spread from person to person, because they would be coated.

Professor Liam Grover, co-author of the study, said: “Although our noses filter 1000s of litres of air each day, there is not much protection from infection, and most airborne viruses are transmitted via the nasal passage. The spray we have formulated delivers that protection but can also prevent the virus being passed from person to person.”

Of course, this spray would not be 100 % effective at preventing disease. However, it could significantly reduce the viral intake. Scientists performed experiments with cell-virus cultures and found that the spray inhibited the infection up to 48 hours after application. Some viruses may pass through this defense, but a lot of them would get trapped. The fewer the viruses get through to your body, the lighter symptoms you are going to experience.

Scientists would recommend using this spray in crowded settings, such as airports, classrooms, buses and similar. However, using it all the time wouldn’t be a bad idea either. It is simply an extra layer of protection in these pandemic times. That is if further researches are going to confirm its effectiveness.

Source: University of Birmingham

Article originally Published in Technology.org CLICK HERE

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