Novel Chlamydia pneumoniae vaccine candidates confirmed by Th1-enhanced genetic immunization.

Identification of highly immunogenic antigens is critical for the construction of an efficacious subunit vaccine against Chlamydia pneumoniae infections. A previous project used a genome-wide screen to identify 12 protective C. pneumoniae candidate genes in an A/J mouse lung disease model (Li et al.

New classes of orthopoxvirus vaccine candidates by functionally screening a synthetic library for protective antigens.

The licensed smallpox vaccine, comprised of infectious vaccinia, is no longer popular as it is associated with a variety of adverse events. Safer vaccines have been explored such as further attenuated viruses and component designs. However, these alternatives typically provide compromised breadth and strength of protection.

Self-assembled micronanoplexes for improved biolistic delivery of nucleic acids.

A new method for biolistic delivery of nucleic acids using a combination of cationic micro- and nanoparticles is reported. The new method is simpler to perform than the conventional calcium/spermidine-based formulations and shows 11-fold improved nucleic acid binding capacity and dose-dependent performance both for in vitro and in vivo applications relative to either the conventional preparation or our recently reported direct cationic microparticle method. These features may enable higher throughput gene delivery and genetic immunization programs and open new venues for the biolistic delivery method.

Cationic gold microparticles for biolistic delivery of nucleic acids.

Here we report preparation and properties of positively charged gold microparticles, and their use for biolistic DNA delivery. Micron-sized gold microparticles were modified by building self-assembling polyethylenimine monolayers on their surfaces, which enabled their electrostatic interaction with negatively charged molecules such as DNA. One milligram of the surface-modified microparticles was able to bind directly to up to 3.