Novel technique enables TB vaccine adjuvant and antigen to be protected from heat damage, according to the researchers of the University of Bath. The study is published in Scientific Reports. There is an urgent need not only for a new TB vaccine, but also for methods to keep vaccines stable outside of the refrigeration 'cold chain' - as up to 50% of vaccine doses are discarded before use due to exposure to suboptimal temperatures. Thermostable vaccines have therefore been named a priority research area in the World Health
‘Promising TB vaccine can be protected from heat damage with a technique called ensilication that works to protect vaccine-relevant proteins from breaking down outside a fridge.’
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Ensilication, a method developed at the University of Bath, "shrink-wraps" vaccine proteins in position using layers of silica that build up into a cage around the molecules - so they don't unravel when exposed to temperatures that would usually break them down. The proteins are held in place until ready to be removed from the silica cage and delivered.
The research team from the Departments of Biology & Biochemistry and Chemistry first demonstrated that the TB antigen ag85b and a vaccine fused with the adjuvant protein Sbi are sensitive to breaking down outside of refrigerated temperatures. They then showed that these vaccine components were protected from heat damage when ensilicated and kept on a shelf at room temperature for long periods of time without loss of structure and function.
This is first time that ensilication has been used to improve the thermal stability of proteins in a vaccine setting, after proof-of-principle work using model proteins.
The results are a big step forward not only in developing a thermally-stable TB vaccines, but in showing that ensilication could be used for many different kinds of vaccines.
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Dr Asel Sartbaeva, who invented ensilication, added: "Our results reveal the potential of ensilication in storing and transporting life-saving vaccines at ambient temperatures globally - in particular to remote areas of developing countries where disease rates are often highest.
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Source-Eurekalert