A new cutting edge in disease prevention.
As the world continues to face new and emerging respiratory viruses, a UM-backed startup from researchers in the Max Rady College of Medicine is working to control airborne viruses before they spread using nanotechnology.
Nanotreat was founded on technology developed by Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics researchers Dr. Donald Miller, Dr. Vernon Dolinsky and Dr. Vinith Yathindranath to develop new tools for the prevention of airborne infections at the site of exposure.
Their research shows that microfluid nasal sprays using lipid nanoparticle technology, or LNP-trap, could be used to target infectious materials in the respiratory system and have applications for human and animal care.
“LNP-trap technology was crucial in creating safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19,” says Miller. “Now, we’ve adapted that same concept to stop viruses before they even enter our cells using. Our nanoparticles act like a shield – neutralizing viruses before they can do harm.”
Targeting viruses at the cellular level provides an added level of protection to first responders and health care workers and reduces the risk of uncontrolled spread.
With their LNP-Trap technology Miller, Dolinsky and Yanthindranath hope to reach a global market with their new cutting precision tools. Nanotreat which is a subsidiary of utR Biotechnology, a Manitoba based biotech company, has licensed the technology and is advancing it towards commercial applications.
“Our team is currently working to lower costs to make this nasal spray accessible to wider populations worldwide,” says David Petch, CEO/CSO of utR Biotech.
“We’re really excited about these “second-generation” nanoparticles, they’re more economical and may allow us to tackle viral entry through the mouth which would put additional viruses besides COVID-19 into play.”
As an emerging field in medicine, nanomedicine requires continued research and partnership with private sector specialists to reach international markets.
While traditional vaccines remain essential in controlling infectious diseases, viruses continue to mutate to evade immune protection. The team’s LNP-Trap technology offers a promising complement, as viral variants have little impact on its effectiveness.
Many populations around the world remain unvaccinated, and systemic antivirals can be costly or carry toxicity risks. LNP-Trap provides an affordable and easy new front line of defence against the spread of infection.
The Nanotreat team hopes that nanoparticle sprays will be used worldwide to reduce the risk and slow the speed that viruses spread in the future. They are working with industry partner utR Biotech who provided initial investment and advance toward commercialization.
“The UM Office of Partnerships, Knowledge Mobilization & Innovation has also been very helpful in developing our research discoveries with patents and positioning into viable commercial products, something that we're not really accustomed to doing ourselves,” Miller says.
For more information on turning research into impact through partnership and collaboration, .
This article is part of a series celebrating UM-backed startups that are turning breakthrough research into solutions for our communities and economy. Discover the other stories in the series: Innovation Success: From smelly hockey gear to safer surgeries and Innovation Success: UM-backed tech promises early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.
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