Alekhya Penumarthi
RMIT University, Australia
Title: Utilising novel nanoparticles for DNA vaccine delivery
Biography
Biography: Alekhya Penumarthi
Abstract
Most DNA vaccines are effective in eliciting immune responses without any side effects. The main criterion for a successful DNA vaccine is to have an efficient delivery system which can deliver it safely to the target cells. There are several successful delivery systems for DNA vaccines til date; however no standard system is in place. For effective DNA vaccination, targeting antigen presenting cells would be important. In this proof of concept study two novel delivery systems 1) yeast transposon virus like particles (Ty-VLPs) and 2) solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) were chosen to study their potential to carry DNA vaccines invitro to dendritic cells using eGFP plasmid as the reporter plasmid. Ty-VLPs are transposition vehicles in S. cerevisiae and were also observed to perform the same function in vitro. Ty-VLPs were purified and plasmid DNA conjugated with them. These complexes were transfected into DC 2.4 cells and analysed by flow cytometry for GFP expression. The transfection efficiency of these complexes was shown to increase compared to plasmid alone. The effect of incubation time for complex formation on transfection efficiency was also studied. Positively charged Solid lipid nanoparticles were synthesised and conjugated with DNA to form complexes. It was shown that there is a 10 fold increase in the transfection rate using these complexes in DC 2.4 cells over plasmid alone and is comparable to that mediated by lipofectamine.