Development of synthetic antigen vaccines for COVID-19

Viana Invenção, Maria da Conceição; Melo, Alanne Rayssa da Silva; de Macêdo, Larissa Silva; da Costa Neves, Thaís Souto Paula; de Melo, Cristiane Moutinho Lagos; Cordeiro, Marcelo Nazário; de Aragão Batista, Marcus Vinicius; de Freitas, Antonio Carlos

The current pandemic called COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus brought the need for the search for fast alternatives to both control and fight the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, a race for a vaccine against COVID-19 took place, and some vaccines have been approved for emergency use in several countries in a record time. Ongoing prophylactic research has sought faster, safer, and precise alternatives by redirecting knowledge of other vaccines, and/or the development of new strategies using available tools, mainly in the areas of genomics and bioinformatics. The current review highlights the development of synthetic antigen vaccines, focusing on the usage of bioinformatics tools for the selection and construction of antigens on the different vaccine constructions under development, as well as strategies to optimize vaccines for COVID-19.