Biodegradable polymers for modern vaccine development

Abstract

Most traditional vaccines are composed either of a whole pathogen or its parts; these vaccines, however,are not always effective and can even be harmful. As such, additional agents known as adjuvants arenecessary to increase vaccine safety and efficacy. This review summarizes the potential of biodegradablematerials, including synthetic and natural polymers, for vaccine delivery. These materials are highlybiocompatible and have minimal toxicity, and most biomaterial-based vaccines delivering antigens oradjuvants have been shown to improve immune response, compared to formulations consisting of theantigen alone. Therefore, these materials can be applied in modern vaccine development.