Washington, March 25 (ANI): A father-son scientist duo in Colombia, South America, has reached a step closer to designing the next generation of synthetic vaccines to fight malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS and other infectious diseases.

Manuel E. Patarroyo and his son Manuel A. Patarroyo say that unlike traditional vaccine development techniques, their new strategy does not involve the use of microorganisms.

The researchers say that their new strategy is instead based on dozens of key protein fragments, which they have found to be involved in the complex infection process of the malaria parasite.

They believe that the same process can be used to identify the disease-related protein fragments involved in the complex infection process of other transmittable diseases, and thereby to create new and more effective vaccines to help fight those diseases.

Describing their method in a paper, appearing in the current issue of ACS Accounts of Chemical Research, the researchers note that their innovative approach establishes for the first time the emerging rules for the development of vaccines against diseases scourging humankind. (ANI)