Towards anti-influenza nasal sprays: infection models and opportunities to reduce animal testing
Abstract The nasal mucosa is an important site of influenza virus entry and early replication, yet approved antivirals are not designed for nasal delivery. This Review summarizes antiviral strategies suitable for nasal administration and evaluates animal and human-relevant models for their development. We discuss route-specific formulation and regulatory requirements and propose a translational framework integrating in vitro, ex vivo and microphysiological systems with targeted in vivo studies to reduce animal use.
Authors
- Sabrina Schnur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3500-6819)
- Anja Knorrscheidt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3353-356X)
- Armin Walter Novak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2556-2950)
- Marius Hittinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2018-7688)
- Jens Kurreck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1469-0052)
- Daniel Christian Lauster (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2009-633X)
- Jolly Thomas
- Leon Matis
- Christoph André Nilius
Institutions
- Technische Universität Berlin (DE)
- University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern (DE)
- Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
- Saarland University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Viruses
- Published
- 2026-11-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44298-026-00255-9
- Primary Topic
- Influenza Virus Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00