Evaluation of Carboxymethyl-Hexanoyl Chitosan as a Protein Nanocarrier

Carboxymethyl‐hexanoyl chitosan (CHC) has the ability to self‐assemble into nanocapsules in an aqueous solution and it has recently shown potential in numerous biomedical applications. Here we investigate the protein loading efficiency and release, as well as the structural properties of CHC protein nanocarriers. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) or its chromophore labelled version, fluorescein‐BSA, was used as a model protein and the loading was performed with a simple mixing of pre‐formed nanocapsules and protein. Dynamic light scattering and zeta potential analysis revealed that protein loaded nanocarriers with high positive zeta potential were formed. The protein loaded nanocarriers displayed a loading efficiency of 75% and a very slow protein release. In summary, our results highlight the potential of CHC as a protein nanocarrier, but also indicate that protein‐CHC interactions need to be considered in protein containing CHC formulations where protein release is not the main function

Design of solid dosage forms for mucosal vaccination - Investigations on the influence of excipients on product performance

Most vaccines today are liquid formulations for parental administration. However, there are several drawbacks connected to these vaccines. Since injectable vaccines only induce systemic antibody responses, they are not effective against the various pathogens that affect mucosal surfaces with poor permeability for serum-derived antibodies, e.g. the small intestine. Further disadvantages of liquid injectable vaccines are the need for medical personnel for the administration, cold chain requirements and large packaging sizes, which all are especially negative factors in developing countries. Solid and preferably mucoadhesive vaccine formulations that are administered via mucosal surfaces would offer a good alternative to many of these problems. The aim of this thesis was therefore to study the influence of excipients in the design of such formulations regarding i) formulation-related properties (mucoadhesion and antigen release) and ii) antigen-functionality preservation during freeze-dying.Mechanistic and immunological investigations using mucoadhesive hydrophilic matrix tablets as potential formulations for sublingual immunization were performed. The effect of osmotic pressure differences on the adhesiveness of hydrophilic swelling matrix tablets was investigated and it was found that a decrease in the osmotic pressure difference resulted in a decrease in the adhesive force, i.e. the force required to detach the tablet from a wet surface. Release of the model antigen ovalbumin from hydrophilic matrix tablets and a fast releasing formulation was characterized. The Bradford Assay used for the protein quantification was found to be disturbed by the hydrophilic polymer Carbopol and a correction method was set up. Sublingual immunizations in BALB/c mice indicated a poor potential of all ER tablets to evoke intestinal immune responses, whereas an immediate release resulted in high antibody titres. Thus it was concluded that the latter formulation type should be preferred in sublingual immunization. In the second part of the thesis the stabilizing potential of different excipients during freeze-drying was tested on killed whole-cell Vibrio cholerae bacteria as a model vaccine for pathogens causing mucosal infections. Sucrose showed great potential to avoid bacterial aggregation, preserve important antigen structures and to maintain the immunogenicity of the bacteria.Hopefully, the presented findings are a help and inspiration for formulators and immunologists to develop mucosal vaccine formulations so that diseases for which today no vaccines exist can be prevented in all parts of the world

Design of solid dosage forms for mucosal vaccination - Investigations on the influence of excipients on product performance

Most vaccines today are liquid formulations for parental administration. However, there are several drawbacks connected to these vaccines. Since injectable vaccines only induce systemic antibody responses, they are not effective against the various pathogens that affect mucosal surfaces with poor permeability for serum-derived antibodies, e.g. the small intestine. Further disadvantages of liquid injectable vaccines are the need for medical personnel for the administration, cold chain requirements and large packaging sizes, which all are especially negative factors in developing countries. Solid and preferably mucoadhesive vaccine formulations that are administered via mucosal surfaces would offer a good alternative to many of these problems. The aim of this thesis was therefore to study the influence of excipients in the design of such formulations regarding i) formulation-related properties (mucoadhesion and antigen release) and ii) antigen-functionality preservation during freeze-dying.Mechanistic and immunological investigations using mucoadhesive hydrophilic matrix tablets as potential formulations for sublingual immunization were performed. The effect of osmotic pressure differences on the adhesiveness of hydrophilic swelling matrix tablets was investigated and it was found that a decrease in the osmotic pressure difference resulted in a decrease in the adhesive force, i.e. the force required to detach the tablet from a wet surface. Release of the model antigen ovalbumin from hydrophilic matrix tablets and a fast releasing formulation was characterized. The Bradford Assay used for the protein quantification was found to be disturbed by the hydrophilic polymer Carbopol and a correction method was set up. Sublingual immunizations in BALB/c mice indicated a poor potential of all ER tablets to evoke intestinal immune responses, whereas an immediate release resulted in high antibody titres. Thus it was concluded that the latter formulation type should be preferred in sublingual immunization. In the second part of the thesis the stabilizing potential of different excipients during freeze-drying was tested on killed whole-cell Vibrio cholerae bacteria as a model vaccine for pathogens causing mucosal infections. Sucrose showed great potential to avoid bacterial aggregation, preserve important antigen structures and to maintain the immunogenicity of the bacteria.Hopefully, the presented findings are a help and inspiration for formulators and immunologists to develop mucosal vaccine formulations so that diseases for which today no vaccines exist can be prevented in all parts of the world

Effect of protein release rates from tablet formulations on the immune response after sublingual immunization

Dry vaccine formulations for sublingual administration would provide great advantages for public healthuse, especially in developing countries, since they are easy to administer and might also have improvedstability properties. This study investigates the influence of protein release rate from mucoadhesive twolayertablets on the elicited antibody responses after sublingual immunization. Two fast release tablets,one based on a mixture of lactose and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and one protein coated ethylcellulose(EC) tablet, and three hydrophilic matrix tablets with extended release (ER) properties based onHPMC 90 SH 100000 or Carbopol\uae 974-P NF were tested. The in vitro release profiles of the model proteinovalbumin (OVA) from these tablets were characterized and correlated to the in vivo potential of the tabletsto induce an immune response after sublingual immunization in BALB/c mice. It could be concludedthat a tablet with fast protein release elicits antibody titres not significantly different from titres obtainedwith OVA in solution, whereas low immune responses were observed with a slow release of OVA from theER formulations. Thus, an ER tablet seems not favorable for vaccine delivery to the sublingual mucosa.Thus, we can present a fast releasing tablet formulation with attractive features for sublingual immunization,whereas the use of ER formulations for sublingual vaccination has to be investigated more indetail

Osmotic-driven mass transport of water: Impact on the adhesiveness of hydrophilic polymers

Adhesion is an important property for the functionality of many medical devices. One reason for the development of adhesive forces is dehydration caused by mass transport of water. Osmotic pressure is one main driving force for mass transport and the correlation between osmotic pressure and adhesive force has not been studied yet, which was the aim of the present study. A model system was used where a Carbopol tablet was lowered onto a 1% (w/w) agarose gel. The force required to detach the tablet (adhesive force) and the weight gain of the tablet (as a measure of transported water) were determined. Sodium chloride and mannitol were added to the agarose gel to decrease the osmotic pressure difference between the agarose gel and the partially hydrated Carbopol tablet. This resulted in a decrease of both mass transport and adhesive force. In addition, experiments with restricted water transport within the agarose gel were performed by preparing gels with different agarose concentrations. An increase of the agarose concentration resulted in decreased water transport and higher adhesive forces. Hence, the results confirmed our hypothesis that osmotic-driven mass transport and restricted mass transport of water correlate very well with the adhesive force

Preparation and evaluation of a freeze-dried oral killed cholera vaccine formulation

Different oral liquid cholera vaccines have proved to be safe and effective, but their formulations present problems for use in low-income countries, since large package volumes have to be transported and cold chain maintenance is required. A solid state formulation would here be more advantageous, and consequently, the possibility to develop a dry cholera vaccine formulation by freeze-drying was investigated. The ability of sucrose, trehalose and mannitol to provide process stabilization during freeze-drying was tested on a formalin-killed whole-cell Vibrio cholerae model vaccine. A matrix of sucrose or trehalose prevented bacterial aggregation, preserved cell morphology and maintained practically completely the protective lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigen on the cell surface and its reactivity with specific antibody in vitro. After reconstitution, this formulation also retained the capacity to elicit a strong serum and gut mucosal anti-LPS antibody response in orally immunized mice, as compared to the corresponding liquid vaccine formulation. The full preservation of the in vivo immunogenicity was also maintained when the internationally widely licensed oral cholera vaccine Dukoral (TM), which comprises a cocktail of inactivated V. cholerae together with cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB), was freeze-dried using sucrose for stabilization. Thus, we present a process generating a dry oral inactivated whole-cell cholera vaccine formulation with attractive features for public health use in cholera-afflicted settings

Increased water transport in PDMS silicone films by addition of excipients

The development of new adhesive wound care products intended for an application over a prolonged time requires good water transporting properties of the adhesive for the maintenance of a suitable environment around the wound. The ability of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based silicone films to transport water has led to its use in skin pressure-sensitive adhesives and it would be advantageous to find ways for controlling or increasing water transport across PDMS films in order to be able to develop improved skin adhesives. In this study we present a way to increase water transport in such films by the addition of hydrophilic excipients. Three hydrophilic additives, highly water-soluble sucrose and the two superabsorbent polymers (SAP) Carbopol (R) and Pemulen (TM), were investigated. The effect of the excipients was characterized by water transport studies, swelling tests, scanning electron microscopy imaging and confocal microscopy. The cross-linked polymers, primarily Pemulen (TM), were efficient water transport enhancers, whereas sucrose did not show any effect. The effect of the additives seemed to correlate with their water binding capacity. For SAPs the formation of a percolating structure by swollen polymer was also suggested, which enhances water penetration by the higher volume fraction of areas with a higher diffusion constant (swollen SAP), leading to a faster transport through the entire film

Quantification of protein concentration by the Bradford method in the presence of pharmaceutical polymers

We investigated how the Bradford assay for measurements of protein released from a drug formulation may be affected by a concomitant release of a pharmaceutical polymer used to formulate the protein delivery device. The main result is that polymer-caused perturbations of the Coomassie dye absorbance at the Bradford monitoring wavelength (595 nm) can be identified and corrected by recording absorptionspectra in the region of 350–850 mm. The pharmaceutical polymers Carbopol and chitosan illustrate two potential types of perturbations in the Bradford assay, whereas the third polymer, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), acts as a nonperturbing control. Carbopol increases the apparent absorbance at 595 nm because the polymer aggregates at the low pH of the Bradford protocol, causing a turbidity contribution that can be corrected quantitatively at 595 nm by measuring the sample absorbance at 850 nm outside the dye absorption band. Chitosan is a cationic polymer under Bradford conditions and interacts directly with the anionic Coomassie dye and perturbs its absorption spectrum, including 595 nm. In this case, the Bradford method remains useful if the polymer concentration is known but should be used with caution in release studies where the polymer concentration may vary and needs to be measured independently

Preparation and preclinical evaluation of a freeze-dried formulation of a novel combined multivalent whole-cell/B-subunit oral vaccine against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli diarrhea

A promising liquid killed multivalent whole-cell plus enterotoxin B-subunit oral vaccine against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), the primary cause of diarrhea among children in low-income countries and travelers to these areas, has recently been developed and tested in preclinical and phase-I and phase-II clinical studies. The vaccine contains killed E. coli bacteria over-expressing the main ETEC colonization factors (CFs) CFA/I, CS3, CS and C6, and a recombinant enterotoxin B subunit protein (LCTBA) given together with a recently developed enterotoxin-derived adjuvant, dmLT. A dry-powder vaccine formulation should be advantageous especially for use in low-income countries. Here we describe a method to produce a dry-powder formulation by freeze-drying of the vaccine using inulin as stabilizer. Although not completely preventing aggregation of bacteria during freeze-drying, the stabilizer provided both improved overall bacterial morphology and almost complete recovery of the CF and B subunit antigens. Most importantly, oral-intragastric immunization of mice with the freeze-dried vaccine together with dmLT adjuvant elicited strong intestinal mucosal and serum antibody responses against all vaccine antigens, which were comparable to those achieved with the liquid vaccine. Our results indicate the feasibility to use freeze-drying with inulin as stabilizer for preparing a dry-powder formulation of the novel ETEC vaccine with retained oral-mucosal immunogenicity compared to the liquid formulation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved