Progress Beyond State-of-Art
Vaccine adjuvants: Vaccines have generated one of the largest impacts on human health in history, but there is a rising need for vaccines that are not only potent, but that also allow control over the specific nature of immune response. Synthetic biomaterials offer opportunities to address immunological questions from new perspectives, and a few biomaterials such as UCNPs and PLGA are now known to exhibit intrinsic adjuvant properties. These polymers trigger ‘danger’ pathways with links between structural properties (e.g. hydrophobicity, charge, molecular weight) of the biomaterials and adjuvant activity. Recent advances in vaccine development and, in particular, the increasing use of recombinant subunit and synthetic vaccines means the need for improved adjuvants is becoming a priority. Moreover, there are many specialised areas with their own unique needs for suitable adjuvant technology. For cancer vaccines, adjuvant emulsions have been utilised, where the formation of a depot at the injection site enables the slow release of antigen and the stimulation of antibody producing plasma cells and specific T-cells.
Expected Results
A new method for synthesis and functionalization of gold nanoparticles for their detection in the NIR-II window: When compared with the shorter-wavelength regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, NIR imaging at wavelengths in the 700–900 nm range has increased the ability of researchers and clinicians to peer deeper into the mammalian body to visualize functional activity and anatomical structures. We present new insights into the formation of gold, silver and gold–silver bimetallic nanoparticles where ethanol, glycerol, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone are able to demonstrate their capability of reducing gold and silver ions at ambient temperature within an alkaline medium. Alkalinity was found to be an influencing factor for nanoparticle formation, where the reducing species of gold and silver ions is an alkoxide. The universal nature of the reaction mechanism will impact upon our ability to prepare colloidal plasmonic nanoparticles (PNPs) which have unique optical, chemical, electronic and catalytic properties. They may be applied in various elds including plasmonics, sensing, catalysis, and biomedical imaging in the NIR-II window.
Socio-Economic Impact
There are several important socio-economic impacting factors as a result of our discoveries:
a) The use of biomaterials in cancer immunotherapy design will bring down the price of immuno-oncology drugs by way of lower concentrations being used yet still maintaining the same therapeutic efficacy.
b) Molecular in vivo imaging of T cell localization and activation in a rodent model is the first step towards being able to translate this to the clinic. This means we could eventually have this type of therapeutic monitoring in patients in the future and having the means to provide more personalised medicine.
c) The introduction of new vaccine adjuvants made of biomaterials will bring less toxicity and more efficacious vaccines onto the market
d) The harnessing of the body’s own immune system to fighting cancer will bring about improved quality of life and better survival for those patients affected by cancer.
