Respiratory mucosal administration of DNA aptamer nanomaterials protects against antigenically diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants

Abstract The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for innovative therapeutic strategies to combat rapidly evolving pathogens that challenge the efficacy of traditional vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments. Here, we explored the potential of TMSA52, a previously described homotrimeric DNA aptamer as a universal prophylactic and therapeutic agent against SARS-CoV-2. TMSA52 demonstrates exceptional binding affinities and broad neutralization against diverse SARS-CoV-2 variant spike proteins that are further enhanced through multimerization onto lamellar iridium nanoplates. Respiratory mucosal delivery of TMSA52 nanomaterials was well-tolerated. Surprisingly, TMSA52 offered potent protection from infection with ancestral SARS-CoV-2 on-par with monoclonal antibodies, and superior protection against antigenically distant SARS-CoV-2 variants. These findings establish DNA aptamers as a promising, cost-effective, and scalable alternative to traditional monoclonal antibody therapies. This study underscores the potential of aptamer-based platforms as a next-generation strategy to enhance global pandemic preparedness and expand our arsenal of infectious disease countermeasures. Competing Interest Statement Provisional patents have been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the use of trimeric aptamers as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. The patent applications are owned by McMaster University and under license to Zentek through a license agreement that covers diagnostic, neutralization and therapeutic use of trimeric aptamers. Footnotes ↵† Denotes co-first authors