Abstract

Alginate coated chitosan nanoparticles as potential oral vaccine carriers: Synthesis and in-vitro characterization

Author(s): Neeraj Khullar, Shatakshee Chatterjee

One of the recent areas of research in the field of healthcare has been to explore stable carrier systems for sustained and controlled release of antigens to achieve enhanced immune response in an oral vaccine.We synthesized alginate coated chitosan nanoparticles (NPs) based on the principle of electrostatic interactions, exploiting the respective cationic and anionic properties of these biopolymers. The particles were characterized for their size, zeta potential and polydispersity index and later observed under SEM and TEM. Bovine serumalbumin (BSA)was chosen as a model antigen for entrapment. Physiological conditions were simulated to carry out in vitro experiments in order to establish the efficacy of alginate coating on chitosan nanoparticles. Based on the entrapment efficiency of the NPs, the release study of BSA for a span of 48 hours was also noted. Nanoparticles stored at 4°C over six weeks were evaluated for their stability.