A paradigm for peptide vaccine delivery using viral epitopes encapsulated in degradable polymer hydrogel capsules

Hydrophobic Shell Loading of Biopolyelectrolyte Capsules

“…Film Characterization by Microfl uorimetry and Measurement of NR Absorbance : For the measurement of NR incorporation by precomplexation, (QCHI/alkylated HA) 8 fi lms were directly fabricated into 96-well plates (3 wells per condition). Alkylated HA derivatives were precomplexed with NR by adding few μ L of a NR stock solution (1 mg mL − 1 or 3.1 mM in ethanol) in the HA solutions at 2 g L − 1 in order to have a fi nal NR concentration of 10 μ M. Briefl y, 50 μ L of QCHI (2 g/L in PBS) were introduced into each well and let adsorbed for 8 min.…”

“…Recent developments of polyelectrolyte microcapsules in life sciences include the use of polypeptides and polysaccharides as shell components, [ 6 ] as these are biocompatible and biodegradable but these require the core to be removed in mild conditions. [ 7 ] The cavity, which is obtained after dissolution of the core material, represents the aqueous part of the capsules in which a range of materials can be encapsulated, including peptides, [ 8 ] proteins [ 9 ] or nucleic acids. [ 10 ] These compounds can be loaded by means of different strategies ("post-loading" and "pre-loading") and released upon well-defi ned stimuli, including changes in pH, ionic strength or temperature, as well as light irradiation or enzymatic degradation.…”

Polymeric Multilayer Capsules in Drug Delivery

“…De Rose and co-workers used bioresponsive PMLCs composed of thiolated poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA SH ) to target a MHCI-restricted peptide epitope of the SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus) gag protein to macaque APCs. [199,200] PMA SH microcapsules are stabilized by disulfide linkages at physiological pH values, but once internalized, the disulfide bridges are broken by the reductive environment, which results in decomposition of the microcapsules. These authors were able to couple the peptide to the capsules through a disulfide linkage by modification of the N terminus of the peptide with a cysteine group.…”

“Wrapped Up” Vaccines in the Context of HIV-1 Immunotherapy

“…These APCs could activate SIV-specific T cells in an ex vivo non-human primate model [217]. Immune responses could be further improved by sensitizing the PeMCs to enzymatic or reductive degradation upon cellular uptake, thereby assuring release of its cargo [218,219].…”