Study of Pneumococcal Surface Protein, PspA, Incorporated in Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Hydrogel Membranes

Abstract

This study investigates poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes as controlled release micro-matrices, which can be useful in therapeutic applications for optimizing the administration of drugs. Currently, the use of hydrogels is limited by protein size. This study investigates the delivery of PspA, a large protein of approximately 38 kD. Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) has been shown to provide protective immunity against pneumococcal infection and is considered as a pneumococcal vaccine. The protein release experiments demonstrated that from an initial pH 7.4, approximately 60% of PspA diffuse into a neutral environment with an initial burst and a declining rate reaching equilibrium. The results indicate that the protein was successfully incorporated and released from the membrane over time. The hydrogel and protein interaction is temporary, and the membrane system is ideal for protein drug delivery. The data confirm that the protein did not aggregate and was active after release. The protein release is promising and a step forward to develop microneedles to facilitate high molecular weight protein delivery as well as vaccine delivery.

Fabrication of Chitosan/PEGDA Bionanocomposites for Enhanced Drug Encapsulation and Release Efficiency

“…The data indicate that adding GtS causes the pore size to increase, which can be explained by GtS being physically entrapped within the film's pores during cross-linking, consequently increasing the ESC and swelling ratio similar to other polymeric materials after loading a biological agent or protein. 70,71 The larger pore also explains the quicker degradation of CsPEGDAGtS films compared to the other films (Figure 8). On the other hand, the similar swelling behavior between CsPEGDA-CGP and the Cs films suggests that CGPs were not entrapped in the pores but were involved in the cross-linking process.…”

“…On the other hand, the similar swelling behavior between CsPEGDA-CGP and the Cs films suggests that CGPs were not entrapped in the pores but were involved in the cross-linking process. 70 SEM Images of Films Postdegradation. CsPEGDA film was incubated with 2 mg/mL of lysozyme pH 7.4 for 24 h to test lysozyme's ability to degrade the film.…”

Pneumococcal Surface Protein A: A Promising Candidate for the Next Generation of Pneumococcal Vaccines

“…This emphasizes the need to include proteins from different clades and families when developing PspA-based vaccines for protection in humans. Administering both PspA and IL-12 intranasal has been demonstrated to increase the secretion of systemic antibodies, enhance opsonization, and confer stronger protection (71,72). Consequently, IL-12 could be an effective adjuvant for PspA-based immunization.…”