Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Dec:303:122345.
doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122345. Epub 2023 Oct 16.

Recent advances in nano- and micro-scale carrier systems for controlled delivery of vaccines

Erika Yan Wang  1 , Morteza Sarmadi  1 , Binbin Ying  2 , Ana Jaklenec  3 , Robert Langer  4
Affiliations
Review

Recent advances in nano- and micro-scale carrier systems for controlled delivery of vaccines

Erika Yan Wang et al. Biomaterials. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Vaccines provide substantial safety against infectious diseases, saving millions of lives each year. The recent COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of vaccination in providing mass-scale immunization against outbreaks. However, the delivery of vaccines imposes a unique set of challenges due to their large molecular size and low room temperature stability. Advanced biomaterials and delivery systems such as nano- and mciro-scale carriers are becoming critical components for successful vaccine development. In this review, we provide an updated overview of recent advances in the development of nano- and micro-scale carriers for controlled delivery of vaccines, focusing on carriers compatible with nucleic acid-based vaccines and therapeutics that emerged amid the recent pandemic. We start by detailing nano-scale delivery systems, focusing on nanoparticles, then move on to microscale systems including hydrogels, microparticles, and 3D printed microneedle patches. Additionally, we delve into emerging methods that move beyond traditional needle-based applications utilizing innovative delivery systems. Future challenges for clinical translation and manufacturing in this rapidly advancing field are also discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: R.L. reports a relationship with Moderna that includes: board membership and equity or stocks. R.L. has patent pending to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. R.L. is a co-founder of Moderna and other biotech companies. For a list of entities with which R.L. is involved, compensated or uncompensated, see www.dropbox.com/s/yc3xqb5s8s94v7x/Rev. For a list of entities with which A.J. is involved, compensated or uncompensated, see https://www.dropbox.com/s/wre16lh7jr7bvoi/230410%20Jaklenec%20COI.pdf?dl=0.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources