• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
SayoStudio

SayoStudio

Seeking: Scientific dreamers in need of a partner to visualize their discoveries & technology.

  • Case Studies
  • Services
  • Our Process
  • About Us
    • FAQs
  • Get In Touch
  • Gallery
  • Blog

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content

What is in the mRNA Vaccine?

October 11, 2021 by Nicolle Fuller Leave a Comment

What is the mRNA Vaccine?

COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Nanoparticle Animation

Photoreal 3d image of vaccine vial, created by Chrisoph Kuehne, SayoStudio

How are you? We know, that’s an odd way to start an article… but times are rough. We never really imagined that as 2021 ends, we’d still be navigating the uncertainty and fear of COVID-19. As science communicators, our goal is to help convey facts. But science exists in the larger context of society, and as such, you can’t always separate emotion from facts. We’re all scared. We’re uncertain. In an effort to help alleviate some of that fear, our scientific animator Christoph Kuehne created this animation showing COVID-19 mRNA vaccine nanoparticle, and our information designer Claire Agosti created an mRNA vaccine infographic. 

Read on to learn more about the mRNA vaccine components, a little bit about how the COVID-19 vaccine works, and where you can go read more information for yourself.

What is a nanoparticle?

Why is the mRNA vaccine nanoparticle called that? What is a nanoparticle illustration showing lipids and mRNAFirst, why do we call these “nanoparticles”? We’re happy to report, it’s relatively self-explanatory! Each nanoparticle is extremely small, measuring around a mere 0.0005 millimeters wide. Nanotechnology, especially for drug delivery, has great promise. It helps target medicine to the right part of the body, and keeps it safe and active for longer. But, you may have negative associations with the thought of putting something “nano” in your body.

Are nanoparticles safe?

It’s true! Some chemicals DO behave differently at the nanoscale (that’s partly what’s so interesting about researching the nanoscale!). You may have read about concerns of nano chemicals in sunscreens? Although this is a bit of an aside, we want to help clarify some of these concerns. Many studies have shown that nanoparticles of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in sunscreens are safe on the skin, however they are more worrisome if inhaled from products like powdered makeup. So it’s not an unfounded fear.

But, remember why we call them nanoparticles? It’s simply because of their size. Nanoparticles can be made up of all sorts of things.  The good news regarding the mRNA vaccine is that its nanoparticles are remarkably safe. One of the comforting features of the mRNA vaccine is that the nanoparticles are largely made up of fats, called lipids, that are similar to those found in our body. Find out more below.

COVID-19 vaccine nanoparticle nanometer illustration
COVID-19 vaccine nanoparticle size in millimeters illustration

Lipids, think of them as the container

Half of mRNA vaccine nanoparticles are made up of cholesterol, 3d illustration by Christop Kuehne, SayoStudio.The bulk of the mRNA vaccine nanoparticle is the shipping container, made up of special fats called lipids. Another word for lipids are fatty acids, and they’re an ideal method to carry the mRNA vaccine. These specially designed lipids include a neutral lipid, a PEGylated lipid, and a ionizable cationic lipid (a technical way of saying it plays nice with water). And finally, nearly half of them are something we can all recognize: cholesterol!

In case you’re worried, this minuscule amount cholesterol will not affect your cardiac health, and each vaccination is only about 0.00018 calories. Well, and if we’re being more precise, it’s not going through your digestive system anyway! The cholesterol, along with the rest of the nanoparticle, will be broken down and removed by your body’s cells within days of vaccination.

mRNA, the most important part…

COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, 3d nanoparticle mRNA illustration by Christoph Kuehne, SayoStudioHowever, before our body removes the nanoparticle, it has one important job… Delivering the mRNA into our body to rev up our immune system. The lipids we described above serve as packaging for the important mRNA strands. These strands are likely surrounded by water within the nanoparticle. That is, until our cells take up the nanoparticle and the mRNA is released. The mRNA doesn’t go far… primarily staying in the area of muscle where it’s injected (usually an arm), with some traveling to the liver and lymph system. If you’d like more information on where the virus goes, this Science post has a great summary of current research.

The purpose of these mRNA strands is simple: it tells the local cells to create the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. From this, your immune system learns to recognize the live virus.

Is it safe to have mRNA making parts of a virus in our body?

What is in the mRNA vaccine? COVID-19 mRNA vaccine infographic fact sheet designed by Claire Agosti, SayoStudio
Do you need a quick cheat sheet on the COVID-19 mRNA vacinne? Here is an infographic summarizing important facts about the mRNA vaccine. Designed by Claire Agosti, SayoStudio

Unlike most vaccines we grew up with, the mRNA vaccine is pretty unique. It differs from vaccinations like polio or chickenpox, that use live, weakened virus; or vaccinations that use inactivated virus, like the flu and rabies vaccines. This new era of vaccine medicine only delivers mRNA.

The mRNA molecule carries instructions for only one thing—the virus’s spike protein. The mRNA can’t change or edit our DNA. In fact, the mRNA never even comes close to our DNA.

Compare this to when we’re infected with a virus, like Coronavirus. When we’re feeling sick from the common cold, or the flu, or SARS2, the virus injects its RNA into our cells. The virus’s mRNA contains instructions for 8-50 proteins that allow it to replicate.

The vaccine, on the other hand, is ONLY giving instructions for one tiny part, the spike protein. The spike protein can’t do anything by itself. Well, anything besides triggering our immune cells to catalog them for future. It’s an ideal target for our immune system since it sticks out from the surface of the actual virus.

Once our body has created antibodies to the spike protein, our immune system is prepared to quickly recognize real viral invaders.

But, what else is in the vaccination?

You might be asking, well… what ELSE is in the vaccine? Most of the liquid in the vaccine is water. Beyond that, it’s a mix of salts and sugars that help keep the vaccine stable. There are no preservatives, latex, or parts made from eggs.

Want to Use the COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Animation?

We thought you might ask… can you use the animation on your website or in your outreach material? As a public service, we’re encouraging others to use the animation. To do so, you can find the mRNA vaccine animation in our gallery as well as the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine infographic, available when you join our science communication advocate family by signing up for our newsletter.

And if you have important stories to tell, this is where you can let us know or you can learn more about our services here.

How did we make the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine animation?

Making the 3d mRNA vaccine vial, by Christoph Kuehne, Sayostudio.

We’re so glad you asked! We’re working on a separate article that gives a little behind-the-scene look at how the animation was created. If you’re interested in this sort of content, please let us know in the comments!

Resources for COVID-19 facts

Have more questions? Here is a great resource that helps answer many common misunderstandings about the mRNA vaccine. As well as other trusted resources for data from hard-working scientists.

  • World Health Organization
  • US Center for Disease Control Covid Facts
  • Love protein structures as much as we do? Check out the resources at the Protein Databank for COVID-19.

References for further reading on the mRNA vaccine nanoparticle

  • Schoenmaker et al., MRNA-Lipid Nanoparticle COVID-19 Vaccines: Structure and Stability. International Journal of Pharmaceutics 601 (May 15, 2021): 120586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120586.
  • Eygeris et al., Deconvoluting Lipid Nanoparticle Structure for Messenger RNA Delivery. Nano Letters 20, no. 6 (June 10, 2020): 4543–49. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01386.
  • Buschmann et al., Nanomaterial Delivery Systems for MRNA Vaccines. Vaccines 9, no. 1 (January 2021): 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9010065.
  • Brader et al., Encapsulation State of Messenger RNA inside Lipid Nanoparticles. Biophysical Journal 120, no. 14 (July 20, 2021): 2766–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2021.03.012.
And… thank you to Gloria Fuentes for her invaluable feedback and scientific expertise!

If you feel inspired and would like to join the science art conversation, please sign up for our newsletters!

Related posts:

  1. 10 Best Science Illustrations of 2021
  2. Science of DIY Water Filter Animation
  3. SayoStudio Science Animation
  4. Olympic Athlete Neuroscience Visuals

Animation,  health,  nano,  Science,  Science Illustration COVID infographic,  COVID visualization,  COVID-19 Animation,  COVID-19 vaccine,  medical animation vaccine,  molecular animation,  mRNA vaccine,  mrna vaccine nanoparticle,  Nanoparticle,  nanosphere image,  science animation,  science communication,  scientific animation,  vaccine animation

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

RSS Recent Posts

  • Human Cell Atlas Science Cover
  • Animation of Volcano
  • Earth Day Graphics
  • Black Hole Drawings
  • 10 Best Science Illustrations of 2021

Categories

  • Animation
  • Art Process
  • Business
  • ecology
  • health
  • Inspiration
  • nano
  • Science
  • Science Communication FAQ
  • Science Illustration
  • Scientist Feature
  • Work-Life-Balance
Ready to get started?

We are excited to learn more about your work to help visualize your story.



Footer

Navigation

  • Case Studies
  • Services
  • Our Process
  • About Us
    • FAQs
  • Get In Touch
  • Gallery
  • Blog

Contact

(703) 594-6755

info@sayostudio.com

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Resources

  • Science Image Pricing & Licensing Rights

Newsletter

Recent Blog Posts

  • Human Cell Atlas Science Cover
  • Animation of Volcano
  • Earth Day Graphics
  • Black Hole Drawings
  • 10 Best Science Illustrations of 2021

sayostudioscience

#sciart—microbes 🔬to galaxies 🔭—Nicolle Fuller leads SayoStudio creating art & animation of science wonders. #scienceillustration

SayoStudio
Did you know you can make a free, DIY water filter Did you know you can make a free, DIY water filter out of wood?! 

Trees naturally have xylem -- a straw like tubing -- to transport water and nutrients into the tree. The pores inside these xylem tubes are very complex on a nanoscale. Water molecules can flow freely through the tubing, but larger bacterial cells get trapped inside the xylem structures.
Because this filtration system removes rotavirus and E. coli, these filters meet the standards set by @WHO for clean, drinkable water. 

Learn more about nanoscientist Krithika Ramchander and Dr. Rohit Karnik's (@mit_engineering) research and see an animation of the xylem catching bacteria on our blog: https://sayostudio.com/science-diy-water-filter-animation

Art and animation created by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio
.
.
.
#waterfilter #diywaterfilter #xylemwaterfilter #treefilter #tree #xylem #mit #engineeringweek #engineering #mitengineering #nanoscience #scicomm #sciart #scienceillustration #scientificillustration #sayostudio #animation
Is #ScienceFriday a thing on social media..? It is Is #ScienceFriday a thing on social media..? It is? Then allow us to introduce you to the basics of #StringTheory! ⠀
⠀
String theory is a Theory of Everything (Grand Unification Theory) that seeks to unite the gravitational force with the other fundamental forces (electromagnetism and nuclear forces) that are already described by quantum mechanics at the atomic level. ⠀
⠀
Gaining a foothold in the theoretical physics community during the 1970's, string theory states that fundamental particles such as quarks + electrons are not points of energy or matter, but result instead from the vibrations of one-dimensional ‘string-like’ entities on a far smaller scale. ⠀
⠀
Although string theory is highly debated and very complex, it poses very interesting solutions to why our observed universe acts the way it does. ⠀
What's your take on string theory? ⠀
⠀
Artwork by Nicolle R Fuller, SayoStudio ⠀
. ⠀
. ⠀
. ⠀
#stringtheory #granreunificationtheory #theoryofeverything #physics #quantummechanics #nuclear #multidimensions #dimensions #sciart #scienceillustration #scicomm #electromagnetism #energy #matter ⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
Could neurodegenerative diseases really be caused Could neurodegenerative diseases really be caused by ancient viral infections? ⠀
⠀
The recent discovery of viral proteins in the brains of MS/ALS patients created a mysterious link between human genes and neurodegenerative disease. ⠀
⠀
Researchers are just now beginning to understand how ancient human endogenous retroviruses (or HERVs) affect our immune responses today. HERV proteins cause disruptions of nuclei in cells; triggering the cells to mount an immune response in the central nervous system. This disruption spreads from cell to cell progressively; and is shown to cause significant motor neuron deterioration. ⠀
⠀
You can read more about this research here: https://loom.ly/_uTOBvc ⠀
⠀
Artwork by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio for @the_scientist_magazine. ⠀
. ⠀
. ⠀
. ⠀
#msawarenessweek #multiplesclerosis #neurodegenerative #neurodisease #als #ms #medicalillustration #cell #sciart #scicomm #scienceillustration #medart #stem #sayostudio ⠀
Having your heart flutter on Valentine's Day might Having your heart flutter on Valentine's Day might seem normal...but for some, it's a common symptom of atrial fibrillation. 💓

Afib is a heart arrhythmia characterized by irregular or fast beating. Electrical signals in the heart dictate how often your heart pumps-- and for some this can get out of whack, causing palpitations and dizziness. 

Luckily  treatment exists to manage Afib. To learn more, visit the American Heart Association or click the link below: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation

Artwork by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio for @popularmechanics
.
.
.
#AmericanHeartMonth #NationalHeartMonth #Scienceillustration #sciart #hearthealth #americanheartassociation #afib #atrialfibrillation #arrhythmia #valentinesheart #heartart #medicalart #medicalillustration
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 SayoStudio · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT