Micro- and nanoparticulates for DNA vaccine delivery

Abstract

DNA vaccination has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional protein-based vaccines for the induction of protective immune responses. DNA vaccines offer several advantages over traditional vaccines, including increased stability, rapid and inexpensive production, and flexibility to produce vaccines for a wide variety of infectious diseases. However, the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines delivered as naked plasmid DNA is often weak due to degradation of the DNA by nucleases and inefficient delivery to immune cells. Therefore, biomaterial-based delivery systems based on micro-and nanoparticles that encapsulate plasmid DNA represent the most promising strategy for DNA vaccine delivery. Microparticulate delivery systems allow for passive targeting to antigen presenting cells through size exclusion and can allow for sustained presentation of DNA to cells through degradation and release of encapsulated vaccines. In contrast, nanoparticle encapsulation leads to increased internalization, overall greater transfection efficiency, and the ability to increase uptake across mucosal surfaces. Moreover, selection of the appropriate biomaterial can lead to increased immune stimulation and activation through triggering innate immune response receptors and target DNA to professional antigen presenting cells. Finally, the selection of materials with the appropriate properties to achieve efficient delivery through administration routes conducive to high patient compliance and capable of generating systemic and local (i.e. mucosal) immunity can lead to more effective humoral and cellular protective immune responses. In this review, we discuss the development of novel biomaterial-based delivery systems to enhance the delivery of DNA vaccines through various routes of administration and their implications for generating immune responses.

Nanomaterials for cancer immunotherapy

“…Synthetic nanomaterial-based delivery systems can be beneficial for these DNA-based therapeutics [126, 127]. Similar to DNA delivery in other biological transfection processes, DNA encoding antigens can also be delivered by various synthetic and natural nanosystems, including PLGA [128, 129], PEI/PGA [130], chitosan [131, 132], cationic lipids [133, 134], grapheme and carbon nanotubes[135], and even hybrid particles [136, 137]. …”

DNA vaccines for prostate cancer

“…They include polymer-, lipid-, liposome-, and peptide-based delivery modalities. The mechanism of action and characteristics of each of these techniques have been reviewed in detail elsewhere (Dong et al, 2016; Farris et al, 2016; Shah et al, 2015). Nanoparticle delivery methods have been used to specifically increase direct presentation of plasmid DNA by professional APCs as briefly discussed above.…”

“…It has been extensively investigated for delivery of DNA in vivo and is particularly suitable due to its inherent positive charge which enables facile nanoscale complexing of plasmid DNA (Farris et al, 2016). Layek et al used mannosylated L-phenylalanine grafted chitosan (Man-CS-Phe) for delivery of plasmid DNA to DCs and macrophages (Layek et al, 2015).…”

Synthetic Polymer-Based Nanoparticles: Intelligent Drug Delivery Systems

“…Biomaterial-based nanoparticulate delivery systems that encapsulate a plasmid DNA represent a better strategy for DNA vaccine delivery compared to those delivered as naked plasmid DNA due to their degradation and inefficiency [23]. The PLA-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLA-PEG) NPs containing a high loading of plasmid DNA in a free form or co-encapsulated with either poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) or poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) have been prepared by different techniques [24].…”