BOSTON — A new study found a new drug-free nasal spray may protect against respiratory infections like COVID and the flu, according to Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“The COVID pandemic showed us what respiratory pathogens can do to humanity in a very short time,” said Jeffrey Karp, co-senior author of the study and chair in Anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “That threat hasn’t gone away.

“We need new, additional ways to protect ourselves and reduce the transmission of the disease,” Karp added.

The preclinical studies show the nasal spray called Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Spray or PCANS may be able to block respiratory illnesses, the hospital announced. The study was done out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and published in the journal Advanced Materials.

The hospital stated that protection methods like vaccines and masks can be beneficial but aren’t perfect, noting that “influenza and COVID-19 infections cause thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of cases of severe disease every year.”

Most viruses enter through human’s noses, the release stated, spreading when infected people breathe out tiny droplets of fluid. Healthy people inhale the droplets, the hospital said, infecting “cells that line the nasal passageways.”

Researchers formulated the nasal spray to stop the infection in the nose using ingredients that the FDA has approved for use in other nasal sprays or determined safe. The spray was tested in a laboratory setting using replicas of human noses and mice and has not been tested on humans.

“We developed a drug-free formulation using these compounds to block germs in three ways — PCANS forms a gel-like matrix that traps respiratory droplets, immobilizes the germs, and effectively neutralizes them, preventing infection,” said co-senior author Nitin Joshi, an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology.

When sprayed in a nasal cavity replica, the release stated, “PCANS captured twice as many droplets as mucus alone.” Mice treated with the spray showed it block the influenza virus at 25 times the lethal dose, giving them “complete protection,” researchers said.

“PCANS forms a gel, increasing its mechanical strength by a hundred times, forming a solid barrier,” said primary author John Joseph, a former postdoctoral fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It blocked and neutralized almost 100% of all viruses and bacteria we tested, including Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV, adenovirus, K Pneumonia and more.”

Researchers added that the inflammatory cells and cytokines in the lungs of animals treated with the spray were “normal.”

The hospital stated that the study “provides a strong foundation for future research” into PCANS and researchers are already exploring whether the spray may block allergens.

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