Glucan Particles: Choosing the Appropriate Size to Use as a Vaccine Adjuvant

Abstract

Beta-glucans are a group of polysaccharides with intrinsic immunostimulatory properties which makes the design of new particulate vaccine adjuvants based on β-glucans very promising. The size of the particles and the antigen loading method, encapsulated into particles or adsorbed on its surface, will influence the toxicological and adjuvanticity properties of the particulate adjuvant. Herein we describe the production of glucan nanoparticles (NPs) with three different sizes, approximately 150 nm, 350 nm, and microparticles as shells (GPs) with approximately 3 μm. The association of the antigen to the particulate adjuvant is described using model protein antigens. The method can be easily adapted for real protein antigens.

Keywords: Adjuvants; Antigen loading; Glucan; Microparticles; Nanoparticles; Particle size.