In aqueous conditions, amphiphilic bioactive molecules are able to form self-assembled colloidal structures modifying their biological activity. This behavior is generally neglected in preclinical studies, despite its impact on pharmacological development. In this regard, a significative example is represented by a new class of amphiphilic marine-inspired vaccine adjuvants, collectively named Sulfavants, based on the β-sulfoquinovosyl-diacylglyceride skeleton. The family includes the lead product Sulfavant A (1) and two epimers, Sulfavant R (2) and Sulfavant S (3), differing only for the stereochemistry at C-2 of glycerol. The three compounds showed a significant difference in immunological potency, presumably correlated with change of the aggregates in water. Here, a new synthesis of diastereopure 3 was achieved, and the study of the immunomodulatory behavior of mixtures of 2/3 proved that the bizarre in vitro response to 1-3 effectively depends on the supramolecular aggregation states, likely affecting the bioavailability of agonists that can effectively interact with the cellular targets. The evidence obtained with the mixture of pure Sulfavant R (2) and Sulfavant S (3) proves, for the first time, that supramolecular organization of a mixture of active epimers in aqueous solution can bias evaluation of their biological and pharmacological potential.
Keywords: adjuvant; aggregates; colloid; immunomodulatory activity; sulfavants.