Publications by authors named "J Bouwstra"

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global health challenge, latently affecting around a quarter of the global population. The sole licensed TB vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), shows variable efficacy, particularly among adolescents and adults, underscoring the pressing need for more effective vaccination strategies. The administration route is crucial for vaccine efficacy, and administration via the skin, being rich in immune cells, may offer advantages over conventional subcutaneous routes, which lack direct access to abundant antigen-presenting cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Tuberculosis (TB) is a critical global health issue, and there's an urgent need for effective vaccines; CD8 T-cells, along with CD4 T-cells, are essential for fighting TB.
  • - The study investigates pH-sensitive liposomes as a delivery system for a multi-stage protein vaccine (Ag85b-ESAT6-Rv2034) against TB, aiming to enhance CD8 T-cell responses through improved antigen presentation.
  • - Results show that these liposomes are successfully taken up by immune cells and promote the activation of T-cells, indicating they could be promising candidates for developing effective TB vaccines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Microfluidics has emerged as a promising technique to prepare nanoparticles. However, the current microfluidic devices are mainly chip-based and are often integrated into expensive systems that lack on-the-spot versatility. The aim of this study was to set up a modular microfluidic system based on low-cost capillaries and reusable, easy-to-clean building blocks that can prepare poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles with and without incorporated water-soluble biomacromolecules.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease associated with an impaired skin barrier. The skin barrier function is dependent on the extracellular lipid matrix which surrounds the corneocytes in the stratum corneum. Ceramides comprise essential components of this matrix.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF