Relationship between hemolytic activity and adsorption capacity of aluminum hydroxide and calcium phosphate as immunological adjuvants for biologicals.

ABSTRACT

Aluminum hydroxide (Al) and calcium phosphate (Ca) gels have been used as vaccine adjuvants for many years. We investigated mechanism of the hemolytic activities of both adjuvant materials. The hemolytic activity of each gel depended on the gel dose. The adsorption capacities and the hemolytic activities of both adjuvants decreased as the concentration of phosphate increased in a gel-washing solution. A positive correlation between the hemolytic activity and the adsorption capacity was found in Al-gel. A disruptive effect of Ca-gel on membrane of erythrocytes was shown by electron microscopy. Ca-gel required more than 10 times as much pre-adsorbed ovalbumin as did Al-gel to inhibit the hemolysis. These results suggest that the hemolytic activity of both adjuvant materials depended mainly on the adsorption ability, and it may be useful to control the adsorption ability of adjuvants to reduce their hemolytic activity.