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Chitosan-Based Adjuvants

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Molecular Vaccines

Abstract

Safe and efficient prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines are lacking for a number of infectious diseases and immunologically related disorders. Novel adjuvants, able to enhance and modify immune responses, thus have the potential to improve both prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. In the search for new types of adjuvants the carbohydrate polymer chitosan has gained increasing interest. Chitosan derives from the natural product chitin and chemically consists of N-acetyl-glucosamine and glucosamine. Attractive characteristics of chitosan as an adjuvant candidate include its natural origin, full biodegradability, non-toxicity and low cost of goods. Chitosan has the ability to stimulate innate immunity but the mechanism of action is not fully understood. The adjuvant effect may also be mediated by improved antigen presentation to immune cells and by enhancing the antigen uptake. Because of its cationic character chitosan adheres to mucosal surfaces. Various chemical derivatives and particulate variants of chitosan have been explored for mucosal administration of vaccines. Available data from clinical trials support chitosan as being a useful adjuvant- and delivery system for intranasal vaccines. In order to develop chitosan based adjuvants for different vaccine applications and administration routes it is crucial to provide high-quality medical grade chitosan. In this chapter we present published data on chitosan as an adjuvant and specifically focus on a recently developed chitosan based adjuvant, ViscoGel.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Therapeutic Immune Design Unit, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    Guro Gafvelin PhD

  2. Viscogel AB, Gunnar Asplunds Allé, Solna, Sweden

    Guro Gafvelin PhD

  3. Therapeutic Immune Design Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    Hans Grönlund PhD

Authors
  1. Guro Gafvelin PhD
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  2. Hans Grönlund PhD
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Correspondence to Hans Grönlund PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Molecular Vaccines, Heidelberg, Germany

    Matthias Giese

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Gafvelin, G., Grönlund, H. (2014). Chitosan-Based Adjuvants. In: Giese, M. (eds) Molecular Vaccines. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00978-0_13

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