新冠病毒棘蛋白表面帶有很多醣分子（藍），醣分子下方的胺基酸較少發生變異。在去除表面多餘的醣，可曝露更多抗原決定區（灰），誘發更多抗體及T細胞反應。以此類去醣化棘蛋白為抗原製造的疫苗，不易受到病毒變異所影響，達廣效之功。
Spike on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 virus is a glycoprotein, which is covered by N-glycans (colored in blue). We have found the epitopes hidden underneath the glycans are less prone to mutations. Wong and Ma’s lab found a simple method to remove the unnecessary glycans to expose more of the conserved epitopes (colored in gray), and to use such mono-GlcNAc-decorated spike (SMG) as a vaccine to elicit both better Antibody and T-cell responses. Since the epitopes hidden by glycans are more conserved, the SMG is a broad-spectrum vaccine against different variants of concern.