Enhanced DNA Vaccine Delivery to Protect Against Biothreat Agents

The long-term goal of RMR is to develop an efficient delivery platform for DNA vaccines to confer protection against infectious agents with bioterrorism potential such as Bacillus anthracis. Safe and effective vaccines for B. anthracis are needed to prevent the mortality associated with anthrax in the absence of rapid diagnosis and treatment. We believe that genetic vaccination provides a superior and safer method for infectious disease antigen presentation than conventional antigen-based approaches. The research proposed here will examine the effectiveness of delivering plasmid DNA encoding for spore proteins and/or protective antigen to establish a vaccine that will be a valuable resource for protecting against B. anthracis infections/outbreaks. Electroporation will be the delivery platform utilized. In addition, we will evaluate a new proprietary electrode applicator developed at the University of South Florida and exclusively licensed by RMR Technologies, LLC that can efficiently deliver DNA vaccines to the skin while significantly reducing or eliminating the discomfort associated with pulse administration.   The use of spore proteins as the candidate antigens is an important aspect to the protection conferred by this vaccine. Including PA with a spore protein could result in protection at different stages of infection, subsequently offering more complete protection from disease.