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One medically important application of tardigrade research could be in vaccine development. As we are now all aware after the recent pandemic, vaccines must be kept at low temperatures. But maintaining the so-called “cold-chain” can throw up a number of potential issues and is also very costly. One alternative could be to use the inherent properties of intrinsically disordered proteins that protects tardigrades during extreme conditions, - to allow vaccines to be stored at room temperature. In fact, Thomas Boothby here on the photo from Molecular Biology Department at the University of Wyoming is already working on tweaking some of these proteins so that they can be used in vaccines. He sais: “We have patents out on these things and have some partnerships,” he said. “If all goes well, hopefully we will see this technology out soon.” Their research has already proven that IDPs can protect protein-based pharmaceuticals (like biologics) around 10 times more efficiently than current FDA-approved protectants.
