Delivery of Vaccines by Biodegradable Polymeric Microcapsules with Bioadhesion Properties

The development of vaccines is of prime inportance to issues of public health and to issues of military significance. Oral vaccines present a means of delivery which is both convenient to the patient and conservative to time and money for medical personnel charge with administration of vaccination programs. A successful oral vaccine, for maximum efficacy, should 1) delivery antigen over an extended period to obviate the necessity of booster doses, I.e.x require only on dose, and 2) be targeted to the specific tissues in the gut which are responsible for the development of immunity. The work described herein proposes an oral-controlled delivery of immunity. The work described herein proposes an oral-controlled delivery system targeted to the lymphoid tissue of the ileum Peyer's patches) by means of selected bioadhesives. Although concerned specifically with the antigens selected by DoD, the approach can be applied to a wide varity of antigens. Such site specific trageting which delivers immunity in one dose can enable vaccination programs to reach into communities both in this country and in the developing nations more effeciently and at less expense.