Vaccination faces many challenges nowadays, and among them the use of adjuvant molecules and needle-free administration are some of the most demanding. The combination of transcutaneous vaccination and nanomedicine through a rationally designed new-formulation could be the solution to this problem. This study focuses on this rational design. For this purpose, new hyaluronic acid nanocapsules (HA-NCs) have been developed. This new formulation has an oily nucleus with immunoadjuvant properties (due to α tocopherol) and a shell made of hyaluronic acid (HA) and decorated with ovalbumin (OVA) as the model antigen. The resulting nanocapsules are smaller than 100 nm, have a negative superficial charge and have a population that is homogeneously distributed. The systems show high colloidal stability in storage and physiological conditions and high OVA association without losing their integrity. The elevated interaction of the novel formulation with the immune system was demonstrated through complement activation and macrophage viability studies. Ex vivo studies using a pig skin model show the ability of these novel nanocapsules to penetrate and retain OVA in higher quantities in skin when compared to this antigen in the control solution. Due to these findings, HA-NCs are an interesting platform for needle-free vaccination.
Keywords: antigen delivery; hyaluronic acid; nanocapsules; nanomedicine; nanovaccine transcutaneous immunization; needle-free; skin delivery; vaccine.