CATEGORY:

BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

PREMIO 2014-2015 organizzato daAssociazione LIFEBILITY

per la diffusione dell’ETICA sociale LIONS presso i giovanie per favorire l’ingresso nel mondo del lavoro

BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

PROJECT N°9

Plant viruses and new care

Sara CIONCI - Salerno

PREMIO 2014-2015 organizzato daAssociazione LIFEBILITY

per la diffusione dell’ETICA sociale LIONS presso i giovanie per favorire l’ingresso nel mondo del lavoro

“Plant viruses and new care ”A revolution in the production and administration

of vaccines

EDIBLE VACCINES

Plant viruses can be genetically modified to produce vaccines into vegetables and fruits.

activate both mucosal and systemic immunity

009 – Plant viruses and new care / Sara Cionci

Purpose

To create edible influenza vaccines

in the form of plant extract

for oral administration

Influenza virus is a widespread pathogen and has an high infection rate

009 – Plant viruses and new care / Sara Cionci

Benefits HEALTH: avoidance of potentially toxic adjuvants

used in traditional vaccines, like Aluminum (neurotoxicity and autism)

ENVIRONMENT: cleaner production chains

No need of syringes and needles: this decreases chances of infection and eliminates the need for

trained medical personnel. High impact especially in developing countries.

Potential issues related to GMO are avoided

009 – Plant viruses and new care / Sara Cioncic

STEP 1 :

Research

• Selection of the plant virus we will use as a vector of an Influenza virus portion

• Engineered vector will infect plants we choose for the project; virus stability and immunogenicity will be tested

• Quantitative evaluations

Fragment of Influenza virus DNA

Into plant virus DNA

Plant extract we can useas vaccine

Vector introduced into

plant cells

009 – Plant viruses and new care / Sara Cioncic

STEP 2 :

Productionand

Marketing• Realization of the greenhouses for the

growth of plants in optimal conditions

• Packaging vegetable extracts in single-dose vials

• Promotion of the new vaccine in the scientific community and the market

009 – Plant viruses and new care / Sara Cioncic

Flu shot

more than 10 million people are vaccinated against Influenza virus every year in Italy

Pharmacies- age> 65 years

- chronic diseases

ASL

Influenza virus kills 8500 people in Italy every year,half a million all over the world

009 – Plant viruses and new care / Sara Cioncic

“Plant viruses and new care”

Plant virus we choose can be engineered every year in the same way to create the

new Influenza vaccine

In the future we can use the same plant virus to produce many other medical products like

anticancer drugs, food supplements, etc.

009 – Plant viruses and new care / Sara Cioncic

“Feeding the planet”

009 – Plant viruses and new care / Sara Cioncic