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Bacterial Vaccines pp 97–113Cite as

Low-Energy Electron Irradiation (LEEI) for the Generation of Inactivated Bacterial Vaccines

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 2414)

Abstract

Vaccines consisting of whole inactivated bacteria (bacterins) are generated by incubation of the pathogen with chemicals. This is a time-consuming procedure which may lead to less immunogenic material, as critical antigenic structures can be altered by chemical modification. A promising alternative approach is low-energy electron irradiation (LEEI). Like other types of ionizing radiation, it mainly acts by destroying nucleic acids but causes less damage to structural components like proteins. As the electrons have a limited penetration depth, LEEI is currently used for sterilization of surfaces. The inactivation of pathogens in liquids requires irradiation of the culture in a thin film to ensure complete penetration. Here, we describe two approaches for the irradiation of bacterial suspensions in a research scale. After confirmation of inactivation, the material can be directly used for vaccination, without any purification steps.

Key words

  • Bacterial inactivation
  • Low-energy electron irradiation
  • LEEI
  • Bacterial vaccine
  • Bacterin
  • Electron beam

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fraunhofer-Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Leipzig, Germany

    Jasmin Fertey, Thomas Grunwald & Sebastian Ulbert

  2. Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, Stuttgart, Germany

    Bastian Standfest & Martin Thoma

  3. Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, Dresden, Germany

    Jana Beckmann

Authors
  1. Jasmin Fertey
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  2. Bastian Standfest
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  3. Jana Beckmann
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  4. Martin Thoma
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  5. Thomas Grunwald
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  6. Sebastian Ulbert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jasmin Fertey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Fadil Bidmos

  2. Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Janine Bossé

  3. Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Paul Langford

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Fertey, J., Standfest, B., Beckmann, J., Thoma, M., Grunwald, T., Ulbert, S. (2022). Low-Energy Electron Irradiation (LEEI) for the Generation of Inactivated Bacterial Vaccines. In: Bidmos, F., Bossé, J., Langford, P. (eds) Bacterial Vaccines. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2414. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1900-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1900-1_7

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

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