title: Combatting infectious diseases; nanotechnology as a platform for rational vaccine design.
abstract: Currently, several successful vaccines are available. However, for pathogens with a highly variable genetic composition, and for which serum IgG antibodies are not a useful correlate of protection, effective vaccines are yet to be developed. This is due to a lack of both the understanding of the immunological pathways leading to long-term protection and the ability to translate the available knowledge into a suitable vaccine formulation. Regarding the latter, nanoparticles can be an attractive platform for vaccine development, as they offer multiple options for improving safety and efficacy. For example, side effects might be decreased upon encapsulation of the adjuvant and the concomitant delivery of antigen and adjuvant is a very promising tool for increasing efficacy. In addition to the many promises, the use of nanoparticles as vaccine carriers should be implemented with caution: the more sophisticated a particle, the more parameters need to be controlled during production and storage.
authors.affiliation: Influenza Virus Research Centre, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Gakuen 4-7-1, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan. Electronic address: elly.van.riet@intravacc.nl.
authors.forename: Elly
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Riet
authors.affiliation: Influenza Virus Research Centre, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Gakuen 4-7-1, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan; Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ainai
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Institute for Translational Vaccinology (Intravacc), P.O. Box 450, 3720 AL Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Division of Drug Delivery Technology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, PO Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gideon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kersten
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan. Electronic address: hasegawa@nih.go.jp.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D014612:Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines
keywords: Adaptive immunity; Adjuvant; Administration route; Delivery; Innate immunity; Nanoparticle; Pathogen; Targeting