Magnetic Nanovectors for the Development of DNA Blood-Stage Malaria Vaccines.

DNA vaccines offer cost, flexibility, and stability advantages, but administered alone have limited immunogenicity. Previously, we identified optimal configurations of magnetic vectors comprising superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), polyethylenimine (PEI), and hyaluronic acid (HA) to deliver malaria DNA encoding (Py) merozoite surface protein MSP1 (SPIONs/PEI/DNA + HA gene complex) to dendritic cells and transfect them with high efficiency in vitro. Herein, we evaluate their immunogenicity in vivo by administering these potential vaccine complexes into BALB/c mice.

N,N'-Carbonyldiimidazole-mediated functionalization of superparamagnetic nanoparticles as vaccine carrier.

Particulates with specific sizes and characteristics can induce potent immune responses by promoting antigen uptake of appropriate immuno-stimulatory cell types. Magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) nanoparticles have shown many potential bioapplications due to their biocompatibility and special characteristics. Here, superparamagnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (SPIONs) with high magnetization value (70emug(-1)) were stabilized with trisodium citrate and successfully conjugated with a model antigen (ovalbumin, OVA) via N,N'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) mediated reaction, to achieve a maximum conjugation capacity at approximately 13 microgmicrom(-2).