Scientists believe a breakthrough discovery has the potential to save lives by protecting us from COVID-19 as well as the flu and colds. Research has found that a new nasal spray could neutralise germs in the nose, preventing infection.
A team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed pathogen capture and neutralising spray, or PCANS, a nasal spray that could shield us from a wide range of airborne threats, from everyday colds to pandemic-causing viruses.
The spray is designed to capture, neutralise, and prevent the transport of various respiratory pathogens.
A new study, published in the journal Advanced Materials, details the creation of PCANS.
One of the study authors, Jeffrey Karp, said: “The COVID pandemic showed us what respiratory pathogens can do to humanity in a very short time. That threat hasn’t gone away. Not only do we have the flu to deal with seasonally, but we now have Covid, too.”
Flu and COVID-19 infections cause thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of cases of severe disease every year. Although vaccines and masks can help curb the spread of disease, they have their limitations.
“We need new, additional ways to protect ourselves and reduce the transmission of the disease,” Karp added.
The majority of respiratory pathogens enter our system through the nose, attaching to tiny droplets of fluid that we inhale. PCANS works to stop this from happening.
Co-senior author Nitin Joshi explained: “The spray was developed using ingredients from the FDA’s Inactive Ingredient Database (IID), which have been previously used in approved nasal sprays, or from the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list of the FDA. We developed a drug-free formulation using these compounds to block germs in three ways — PCANS forms a gel-like matrix that traps respiratory droplets, immobilises the germs, and effectively neutralises them, preventing infection.”
During lab tests, PCANS was found to capture twice as many droplets as mucus alone in a 3D-printed replica of a human nose. The spray also blocked and neutralised almost 100 percent of all viruses and bacteria tested, including Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV, adenovirus, and K. pneumoniae.
The team also trialled the spray in animals. A single dose of the nasal spray effectively blocked infection from an influenza virus at 25 times the lethal dose in mice. Co-senior author Yohannes Tesfaigzi said: “The formulation’s ability to inactivate a broad spectrum of pathogens, including the deadly PR8 influenza virus, demonstrates its high effectiveness. In a rigorous mouse model study, prophylactic treatment with PCANS demonstrated exceptional efficacy, with treated mice exhibiting complete protection, while the untreated group showed no such benefit.”
PCANS also offers long-lasting protection. In mice, the nasal spray showed a residence time of at least eight hours in the nasal cavity, meaning it would not need to constantly be reapplied.
However, PCANS has not yet been tested in humans. Larger animal studies and human clinical trials are needed to confirm its safety and efficacy in people.