Rachel Nuwer for the Office of Engineering Communications March 16, 2021 10:01 a.m. A team of Princeton engineers led by Robert Prud'homme and Shahram Hejazi have found a way to encapsulate drugs and biological molecules in nanoparticles, allowing for more efficient delivery of vaccines and other medications. Illustration by Neil Adelantar A new technology being developed by Princeton University researchers and alumni could offer a more effective and robust delivery method for COVID-19 vaccines. Compared to current vaccines, the technology, which relies on a new type of nanoparticle, could introduce five times as much of the vaccine’s active ingredient, mRNA, into recipients’ cells. This technology will be a boon for triggering a stronger immune response while also providing a more scalable vaccine production line, according to Robert Prud’homme, a professor of chemical and biological engineering, and Shahram Hejazi, a faculty member at the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education,