The development of a nanoparticulate system for the carrier antigen is now an important tool in the vaccination process, since a smaller number of doses is necessary for effective immunization. Thus, in this work a nanoparticulate system using polymers of chitosan and poly (methacrylic acid) (CS-PMAA) to adsorb the Vi antigen of Salmonella Typhi was developed. CS-PMAA nanoparticles with different proportions of chitosan and poly (methacrylic acid) were obtained and reached sizes from 123.9 ± 2.48 to 234.9 ± 2.66 nm, and spherical shapes were seen in transmission microscopy. At pH 7.2, the nanoparticles had a cationic surface charge that contributed to the adsorption of the Vi antigen. Qualitative analyses of the isolated Vi antigen were performed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, which indicated the presence of all the characteristic bands of the capsular polysaccharide, and nuclear magnetic resonance, which showed signals for the five hydrogens and the N-acetyl and O-acetyl groups which are characteristic of the Vi antigen structure. In the adsorption kinetics study, the Vi capsular antigen, contained in a phosphate buffer solution of pH 7.2, experienced 55% adsorption on the 1-1% (CS-PMAA) nanoparticles. The adsorption kinetics results showed the ability of the nanoparticulate system to adsorb the Vi antigen.
Keywords: Salmonella Typhi; Vi antigen; adsorption; chitosan; nanoparticles.