The U.S. Air Force has received a patent for an approach that extends the shelf life of biological materials including vaccines and antibodies without refrigeration.
The approach will work to stabilize biological materials through the removal of water from their production and storage containers, USAF said Wednesday.
According to the service branch, while biological materials maintain their function when they are stored in pH neutral-water, it speeds up their decay in time.
“Once the water is removed, the protein is highly concentrated and remains a liquid. No additional solvent is needed,” said Patrick Dennis, a researcher at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Performance Wing and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base’s materials and manufacturing directorate.
Dennis collaborated with Rajesh Naik and Joseph Slocik, AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing researchers, to work on the method for three years.
Dennis noted the approach applies to laboratory studies and not for clinical purposes.