DocumentCode :
1567580
Title :
Encapsulation of immunoreactive protective antigen within a nanofibrous membrane for use as a transdermal anthrax vaccine
Author :
Sawicka, K.M. ; Kahng, P.W. ; Knockenhauer, K.E. ; Simon, S.R.
Author_Institution :
Stony Brook Univ., Stony Brook, NY
fYear :
2009
Firstpage :
1
Lastpage :
2
Abstract :
Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium which causes anthrax, has been a source of major concern since the deadly series of contaminated postal letters back in 2001. The three main proteins secreted by the bacterium are protective antigen (PA), lethal factor (LF), and edema factor (EF), and are the cause of its virulent effect. With the impeding threat of bioterrorist attacks, studies have been undertaken to develop an effective anthrax vaccine. The currently proposed technologies suffer from immunity conferred only in a small percentage of subjects, but most importantly the unrealistic method of delivery during a pandemic situation. Our group has proposed to construct a transdermal patch composed of a nonwoven nanofibrous membrane of PA as a self administrable anthrax vaccine prepared by the cost efficient technique of electrospinning. The fabricated water-soluble membrane with a high surface area-to-volume and mass ratios is expected to allow antigen penetration into the human skin layers, where antigen presenting cells will enable cutaneous immunity. This study utilized a novel immunoblotting assay to investigate the effect of electrospinning process on the protein´s immunoreactivity. The developed method allowed for accurate quantification of the immobilized PA deposited on 4 mm times 4 mm silicon wafers proposed as delivery vehicles.
Keywords :
diseases; drugs; electrospinning; microorganisms; molecular biophysics; nanofibres; proteins; skin; Bacillus anthracis; Si; edema factor; electrospinning; human skin layer; immunoreactive protective antigen; lethal factor; nonwoven nanofibrous membrane; protective antigen; protein; silicon wafer; size 4 mm; transdermal anthrax vaccine; water-soluble membrane fabrication; Biomembranes; Bioterrorism; Costs; Encapsulation; Humans; Immune system; Impedance; Protection; Proteins; Vaccines;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Bioengineering Conference, 2009 IEEE 35th Annual Northeast
Conference_Location :
Boston, MA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4362-8
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4364-2
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/NEBC.2009.4967704
Filename :
4967704
Link To Document :
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