The majority of vaccines are
currently administered via sub-cutaneous injection, often requiring
considerable patient pain and discomfort, both at the time of injection
and for several days later. In contrast, the oral
route of administration of vaccines is a much more attractive
means of delivery due to the ease of administration, increased patient
comfort and ease of access, particularly in developing countries, and in
countries where it is very difficult to establish a "cold chain" for
vaccine storage. Whilst there has been considerable research that has been
aimed at producing edible vaccines, these genetically modified vaccines
suffer from the disadvantage that they are currently non-adjuvanted, and
as such only stimulate a very low level of immunity.
Early studies on oral vaccines using lectin-like molecules established
that a wide range of carrier proteins are suitable for use as carriers for
oral vaccines. Additional studies have shown that it is possible to use
these orally active carriers to coat nanoparticle systems that potentially can be
modified to incorporate a strong adjuvant, thus enhancing their utility as
oral vaccine carriers.
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Binding
of targeting agent to
GIT epithelium |
Uptake
of targeted
nanoparticles |
Targeted nanoparticles
in the Mesenteric LN |
Mentor can provide technical advice on
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The identification of targeting molecules.
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The synthesis of conjugates.
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The preparation of targeted nanoparticles containing the
pharmaceuticals.
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Incorporation of adjuvants within the nanoparticle systems
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Appropriate in vitro and in vivo models.
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