The Novavax COVID vaccine begins with the full-length, pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The transmembrane domain enables them to embed in a Polysorbate 80, or PS80, core, to form vaccine nanoparticles (1). The vaccine is formulated with Novavax’s unique Matrix-M adjuvant which helps to enhance the immune response to the vaccine (4, 5).
In the vaccine, spike proteins likely mimic the look and motion of how spike proteins move on the virus envelope (2). These presentation similarities train the immune system for future encounters with the virus (1,3).
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Protein IDs PDB ID: 6VXX_1_1_1
NVX-CoV-2 Vaccine: 1. Bangaru, et al., 2020. DOI: 10.1126/science.abe1502 2. Krueger, et al., 2020. DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c00986 3. Turoňová, et al., 2020. DOI: 10.1126/science.abd5223
**Matrix-M Adjuvant ** 4. Magnusson, et al., 2018. DOI: 10.1007/s12026-018-8991-x 5. Reimer, et al., 2012. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041451