More than 165 vaccines against the COVID-19 are currently being developed all around the world, including 27 already in human trials, according to the New York Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. Governments around the world are pre-ordering vaccines and contracting out the requisite syringes and vials.

By some estimates, 850 million syringes could be needed in the US alone, assuming two doses for each person as many of the vaccines under development would require a secondary booster of vaccine after the first shot. Globally, even if larger, multi-dose versions are created, billions of vials holding the vaccine must also be created.

SiO2 Materials Science has been tapped by the US federal government with a US $143 million agreement to supply its own unique plastic vials in collaboration with Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) group.

SiO2’s plastic vials are injection molded and coated with silica.

SiO2 starts with an injection molded preform that is then stretch blow-molded into its final shape and coated with a 20 nanometer thick layer of silica via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).

SiO2's resulting vial has four layers, starting with a silica and carbon protective layer that’s in contact with the drug; a barrier layer of pure silica; and then an adhesion layer that bonds those to the plastic.

Benefits to the design include thermal stability and integrity, chemical stability, gas barrier, mechanical durability, no breakage and precision dimensions. The vials are thermally stable from -196℃ to 121℃, with seal integrity down to -80℃.

Chemical stability allows the vials to house liquids with pH ranges from 3-14, and the risk of delamination and metal ions seen in some cases with glass vials is eliminated, according to SiO2.

The gas barrier grants the vials long shelf life, and, in addition to being shatterproof and safe if dropped, they can withstand 1500 pounds of direct force. SiO2 stated that, precision molding makes the products up to 15 times more dimensionally consistent than glass, which eases their use with auto-injectors and other drug delivery devices.