Effect of Delivery Platforms Structure on the Epidermal Antigen Transport for Topical Vaccination

YEALLAND, GUY; GUGLIOTTA, LUIS M.; CALDERÓN, MARCELO; KAR, MRITYUNJOY; GONZALEZ, VERÓNICA D. G.; MINARI, ROQUE J.; SONZOGNI, ANA S.; WEDEPOHL, STEFANIE; HEDTRICH, SARAH

BIOMACROMOLECULES

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Año: 2018 vol. 19 p. 4607 - 4616

1525-7797

Transdermal immunization is highly attractive owing to the skin accessibility and unique immunological character. However, it remains a relatively unexplored route of administration owing to the great difficulty of transporting antigens past the outermost layer of skin, the stratum corneum. In this article, the abilities of three poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) based thermoresponsive assemblies ? PVCL hydrogels and nanogels plus novel film forming PVCL/acrylic nanogels ? to act as protein delivery systems were investigated. Similar thermal responses were observed in all systems, with transition temperatures close to 32 °C, close to that of the skin surface. The investigated dermal delivery systems showed no evidence of cytotoxicity in human fibroblasts and were able to load and release ovalbumin (OVA), a well-studied antigen, in a temperature dependent manner in vitro. The penetration of OVA into ex vivo human skin following topical application was evaluated, where enhanced skin delivery was seen for the OVA loaded PVCL systems relative to administration of the protein alone. The distinct protein release and skin penetration profiles observed for the different PVCL assemblies were here discussed on the basis of their structural differences.