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MIT scientists use a new type of nanoparticle to make vaccines more powerful
A type of nanoparticle called a metal organic framework (MOF) could be used to deliver vaccines and act as an adjuvant. MIT researchers find these particles provoke a strong immune response by activating the innate immune system through cell proteins called toll-like receptors.
“Understanding how the drug delivery vehicle can enhance an adjuvant immune response is something that could be very helpful in designing new vaccines,” says Ana Jaklenec, a principal investigator at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and one of the senior authors of the new study. In this study, the researchers focused on a MOF called ZIF-8, which consists of a lattice of tetrahedral units made up of a zinc ion attached to four molecules of imidazole, an organic compound. RNA sequencing of cells from the lymph nodes showed that mice vaccinated with ZIF-8 particles carrying the viral protein strongly activated a TLR pathway known as TLR-7, which led to greater production of cytokines and other molecules involved in inflammation.
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