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A new vaccination method uses gold nanoparticles which imit the viruses. Posted on the magazine "Nanotechnology", the technique is due to a research team of Vanderbit University in Nashville (Tenesee, U.S.) and has been tested in laboratory in order to defeat respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the lending cause of respiratory infections in children and elderly.

The power of this virus comes from a specific protein, called F protein, which coats the surface of the virus. The protein allows to virus the entrance in the cell, by making sure that the cells adhere together, making the virus very difficult to eliminate; and it is against this protein in which this new vaccination is focused.

The new vaccine is based on thiny gold tubes, wide 21 nanometres and long 57 nanometres, its shape and size are similiar to the RSV virus. These nanotubes have been coated with F protein and were tested on immune cells taken from blood samples of adults people. The F proteins, after the contact with immune cells, have stimulated the proliferation of T lymphocytes.

The tests also proofs that nanoparticles are not toxic for humans, increasing in this way the application in vaccines.