Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Thermostabilization Of Viruses Via Complex Coacervation, Xue Mi, Whitney C. Blocher Mctigue, Pratik Umesh Joshi, Mallory K. Bunker, Caryn L. Heldt, Sarah L. Perry

Michigan Tech Publications

Widespread vaccine coverage for viral diseases could save the lives of millions of people each year. For viral vaccines to be effective, they must be transported and stored in a narrow temperature range of 2–8 °C. If temperatures are not maintained, the vaccine may lose its potency and would no longer be effective in fighting disease; this is called the cold storage problem. Finding a way to thermally stabilize a virus and end the need to transport and store vaccines at refrigeration temperatures will increase access to life-saving vaccines. We explore the use of polymer-rich complex coacervates to stabilize viruses. …