Eroglu E., Waffo A.B., Dennis V.A., Singh S.R.
Alabama State University, US
Keywords: DNA vaccine, PHEMA-Chitosan nanospheres, RSV
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) causes serious lower respiratory tract diseases among infants. Unfortunately, no effective vaccine to prevent RSV infection has been developed. RSV fusion gene (RSV-F) is conserved among various strains of RSV. Therefore, an RSV-F DNA vaccine could confer long lasting protection against different RSV strains. Efficient delivery systems are required to increase the activity of DNA and/or protein vaccines for in vivo applications. Several nano-scale delivery systems are currently being studied for use as desirable vaccine delivery vehicles. These delivery nanomaterials could be very useful particularly for DNA vaccines. Encapsulation of these vaccines into nanostructures improves immunological properties. Poly hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) nano-spheres coated by chitosan is one of the most promising vaccine candidate to improve delivery of either DNA or protein vaccines. In this study, the full-length fusion (F) gene from RSV was cloned into pHCMV-1 mammalian expression vector to generate a DNA vaccine candidate against RSV. A nanoparticle based delivery system was devised using PHEMA-Chitosan and DNA vaccine. The nanoparticles were characterized. The DNA vaccine was assessed for expression in vitro. To our knowledge, this is the first study encapsulating a DNA vaccine into PC nano-spheres with high efficiency.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 3, Nanotechnology 2012: Bio Sensors, Instruments, Medical, Environment and Energy (Volume 3)
Published: June 18, 2012
Pages: 158 - 161
Industry sectors: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing | Medical & Biotech
Topics: Biomaterials, Materials for Drug & Gene Delivery
ISBN: 978-1-4665-6276-9