2. Academic Validation
  3. Carboxymethyl-β-glucan/chitosan nanoparticles: new thermostable and efficient carriers for antigen delivery

Carboxymethyl-β-glucan/chitosan nanoparticles: new thermostable and efficient carriers for antigen delivery

  • Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2021 Aug;11(4):1689-1702. doi: 10.1007/s13346-021-00968-9.
Ana Sara Cordeiro 1 2,  Yagmur Farsakoglu 3 4,  José Crecente-Campo 1,  María de la Fuente 5,  Santiago F González 6,  María José Alonso 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Center for Research in Molecular Medicine & Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), School of Pharmacy, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, Santiago de Compostela, 15706, Spain.
  • 2 Leicester School of Pharmacy, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK.
  • 3 Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Università Della Svizzera Italiana, via Vincenzo Vela 6, Bellinzona, 6500, Switzerland.
  • 4 NOMIS Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA.
  • 5 Nano-Oncology and Translational Therapeutics Unit, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Clinical University Hospital of Santiago de Compostela (CHUS), Santiago de Compostela, 15706, Spain.
  • 6 Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Università Della Svizzera Italiana, via Vincenzo Vela 6, Bellinzona, 6500, Switzerland. santiago.gonzalez@irb.usi.ch.
  • 7 Center for Research in Molecular Medicine & Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), School of Pharmacy, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, Santiago de Compostela, 15706, Spain. mariaj.alonso@usc.es.
PMID: 33797035 DOI: 10.1007/s13346-021-00968-9
Abstract

In the last few decades, nanotechnology has emerged as an important tool aimed at enhancing the immune response against modern antigens. Nanocarriers designed specifically for this purpose have been shown to provide protection, stability, and controlled release properties to proteins, peptides, and polynucleotide-based antigens. Polysaccharides are particularly interesting biomaterials for the construction of these nanocarriers given their wide distribution among pathogens, which facilitates their recognition by antigen-presenting cells (APCs). In this work, we focused on an immunostimulant beta-glucan derivative, carboxymethyl-β-glucan, to prepare a novel nanocarrier in combination with chitosan. The resulting carboxymethyl-β-glucan/chitosan nanoparticles exhibited adequate physicochemical properties and an important protein association efficiency, with ovalbumin as a model compound. Moreover, thermostability was achieved through the optimization of a lyophilized form of the antigen-loaded nanoparticles, which remained stable for up to 1 month at 40 ºC. Biodistribution studies in mice showed an efficient drainage of the nanoparticles to the nearest lymph node following subcutaneous injection, and a significant co-localization with dendritic cells. Additionally, subcutaneous immunization of mice with a single dose of the ovalbumin-loaded nanoparticles led to induced T cell proliferation and antibody responses, comparable to those achieved with alum-adsorbed ovalbumin. These results illustrate the potential of these novel nanocarriers in vaccination.

Keywords

Biodistribution; Carboxymethyl-β-glucan; Chitosan; Immunization; Nanovaccines; Two-photon microscopy.

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