Page - (000389) - in Biomedical Chemistry: Current Trends and Developments

DCs. In addition, it has been proved that effective active DC targeting can be achieved by reducing the nonspecific interaction of the nanoparticles with plasma constituents and other cells in the bloodstream, by introducing a hydrophilic biomaterial consisting of PEG onto the surface of the particles (Hillaireau, 2009). Polysaccharides (Weber, 2010), PLA (Primard, 2010), PLGA (Binjawadagi, 2014), polyanhydrides (Camacho, 2011), and polyphosphazene (Garlapati, 2012) are among the most widely studied nanomaterials prepared for immunostimulative purposes. Different techniques have been employed to prepare the nano- immunotherapeutics using the abovementioned polymers, including spray drying, emulsification/solvent evaporation, and coacervation (Kalkanidis, 2006; Oyewumi, 2010). All of these methods can produce polymeric nanoparticles with a large surface area that improve the interaction between immune cells and the immunostimulative payload (Bachmann, 2010), leading to enhanced uptake of antigens by DCs and improved immune responses (Silva, 2013). The main reason for the great interest in immunostimulatory potential of the abovementioned nanoparticles is the superior biocompatibility, versatile chemistry, high protection of the loaded biomolecules, high loading efficiency, efficient endocytosis and high presentation of the immunogenic molecules (Binjawadagi, 2014; Camacho, 2011; Garlapati, 2012; Jiang, 2005; Primard, 2010; Weber, 2010). For example, some of these nanocarriers have shown endosomal escape properties, potentiating the proteosome- dependent processing of the immunogenic payload and cross- presentation through MHC class I (Jia, 2013; Silva, 2013). Another benefit of these nanoparticles is the ability to control the release pattern of the loaded immunostimulative compound and to act as an adjuvant and increase the therapeutic effect of the formulation (Cohen, 1994; Nandakumar, 2012; Oyewumi, 2010). For example, Gómez (Gomez, 2006) have reported the ability of poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydrate) (PMVE-MAh) nanocarriers for vaccination using OVA as a model antigen. The results showed higher humoral immunity (IgG titers) in response to the OVA-loaded nanoparticles compared to the alum, indicating the potential of PMVE-MAh for antigen delivery and improving immune responses (Fig. 3.5.12). Despite all the advantages