Summary: The use of natural polysaccharides in nanovaccine carriers impacts immunogenicity and antigen delivery efficacy. In this work, novel carboxymethyl β-glucan:chitosan nanoparticles were developed to deliver ovalbumin (OVA) to immune cells in lymph nodes. Fluorescently labelled OVA-loaded nanoparticles accumulated in the medullary and interfollicular areas of the popliteal lymph node, 12 hours post-subcutaneous injection into the footpad of C57/BL6 mice. The ability of β-glucan to interact with the dendritic cell receptor Dectin-1 is likely responsible for efficient immune cell targeting observed with our formulation. Thermostability was also achieved through lyophilization of antigen-loaded carriers, which remained stable in a powder form for up to one month at 40 °C. Moreover, subcutaneous immunization of mice with a single dose of the OVA-loaded nanoparticles led to induced T cell proliferation and antibody responses, comparable to those achieved with alum-adsorbed OVA, illustrating the potential of these novel nanocarriers in vaccination.
This paper was selected as the best paper in the August 2021 issue by the editors and guest editors.
