Roles of different types of NPs in vaccine development
| Types | Vaccine NPs | Roles in vaccine development | Disease cured | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Organic NPs | PNPs | Better immunogenicity can be obtained by easy modification of surface proteins, biodegradable and targeted antigen delivery | Hepatitis B virus (HBV), malaria, Ebola, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) | [11, 20, 24, 26–28] |
| Liposomes | Have the ability to protect against degradation, carry single or multiple hydrophilic and lipophilic antigen, control the release of antigen, enhance cellular uptake, and improve antigen- specific immune response | HBV, hepatitis A virus (HAV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza A viruses (IAVs), and influenza B viruses (IBVs) | [29–32] | |
| Dendrimers | Have adjuvant properties and provide molecularly defined multivalent scaffolds to produce highly defined conjugates with small molecule immunostimulators and/or antigens | Ebola; hemagglutinin type 1 and neuraminidase type 1-influenza A (H1N1); Toxoplasma gondii | [33–35] | |
| VLPs | The particles mimic the parent pathogen, have high gastrointestinal stability, and possess self-adjuvant properties | Human papillomavirus (HPV), H1N1 IAV, HIV, H5N1 IAV | [36, 37] | |
2. Inorganic NPs | Gold NPs | Have the ability to tune and upregulate immune response, can exert optimal actions both as delivery systems and as adjuvants | West Nile virus, foot and mouth disease virus, H1N1 IAV, Streptococcus pneumonia, and Burkholderia mallei | [38–42] |
| Iron oxides NPs (IONPs) | Promote the activation of immune cells and cytokine production, including potent humoral and cellular immune responses | M.tb, malaria, HBV | [43, 44] | |
| 3. Self-assembled NPs | Offer a collective strength of multiple binding sites and can provide improved antigen stability and immunogenicity | EBV, malaria | [45–47] | |
| 4. Protein/peptide NPs | Offer a collective strength of multiple binding sites (avidity) and can provide improved antigen stability and immunogenicity | HIV, influenza, and malaria | [45, 48] | |
