Nano Express
High-density sub-100-nm peptide-gold nanoparticle complexes improve vaccine presentation by dendritic cells in vitro
- † Equal contributors
Author affiliations
1 Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 77005, Houston, TX USA
2 Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, 77030, Houston, TX, USA
3 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, 77005, Houston, TX USA
Citation and License
Nanoscale Research Letters 2013, 8:72 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-8-72
Published: 12 February 2013Abstract
Nanocarriers have been explored to improve the delivery of tumor antigens to dendritic cells (DCs). Gold nanoparticles are attractive nanocarriers because they are inert, non-toxic, and can be readily endocytosed by DCs. Here, we designed novel gold-based nanovaccines (AuNVs) using a simple self-assembling bottom-up conjugation method to generate high-peptide density delivery and effective immune responses with limited toxicity. AuNVs were synthesized using a self-assembling conjugation method and optimized using DC-to-splenocyte interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assays. The AuNV design has shown successful peptide conjugation with approximately 90% yield while remaining smaller than 80 nm in diameter. DCs uptake AuNVs with minimal toxicity and are able to process the vaccine peptides on the particles to stimulate cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). These high-peptide density AuNVs can stimulate CTLs better than free peptides and have great potential as carriers for various vaccine types.
