Every year, millions of people are infected with hepatitis B. Hundreds of thousands died. Especially children. Many people in developing countries are not vaccinated against this dangerous virus due to high costs and stable environmental conditions for vaccine storage. As a result, researchers have been trying to produce oral vaccines in the form of drops or powders. Oral vaccines are cheaper and easier to administer than injections. So far, however, researchers have not developed an effective oral hepatitis B vaccine.
A collaboration between physicists at Niels Bohr Institute, researchers at the University of s ã o Paulo and the butantan Institute has introduced a technology into the pharmaceutical industry that could succeed and lead to the best oral hepatitis B vaccine.
"We used techniques commonly used in solid-state physics to explore the behavior of vaccines in specific types of packaging. This produces critical information that is not available in other ways. When our scientists venture into our comfort zones and deploy to each other, heloisa bordallo, an associate professor at Niels Bohr Institute and one of the two leading authors of the research just published in the scientific report, said that interdisciplinary knowledge will open up new possibilities.
Three dimensional insight
The main challenge in the preparation of oral vaccine is to encapsulate it in materials that can withstand the harsh conditions of our digestive system, so as to protect the vaccine from being damaged before reaching the intended purpose in vivo. Danish research team's partners in Brazil have long known that silica SBA-15 is very suitable for encapsulation of hepatitis B vaccine. But they don't know exactly how the material protects the vaccine. They are also not sure why their vaccine is not always fully effective.
This is a picture of a team of Danish physicists. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute used a special technique that combines X-ray and neutron imaging to produce 3D images of the interior of SBA-15 silica. This marks a key step in the development of drugs using the technology. The images allow researchers to observe the behavior of the vaccine inside silica, up to the particle size. Among other things, they were able to see that the vaccine tended to agglomerate in silica, reducing its effectiveness.
"Now we know what makes the vaccine ineffective and how to optimize it," explains heloisa. We know exactly how much vaccine should be put into the silicone capsule to make it work best in the body, and it can better explain the clinical trials. " Bo Da Luo
No more swelling and inflammation
Martin K. Rasmussen, another leading author, explained that the vaccine is particularly promising for developing countries. He was a student of the Niels Bohr Institute and now a doctoral student of DTU:
"Getting rid of needling into the arms of children is an advantage in itself. It also eliminates any need for needle sterilization and possible side effects such as swelling and infection. Moreover, unlike vaccines used today, this type of vaccine does not require refrigerated vaccines. As a result, costs can be reduced and vaccine management simplified. "
The researchers hope that 3D technology will also be used to develop oral vaccines for several other diseases. Danish researchers and Brazilian partners aim to produce 6-in-1 oral vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib and hepatitis B. Vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus are already under development.