Cationic Liposomes: A Flexible Vaccine Delivery System for Physicochemically Diverse Antigenic Peptides.

PURPOSE: Personalized peptide-based cancer vaccines will be composed of multiple patient specific synthetic long peptides (SLPs) which may have various physicochemical properties. To formulate such SLPs, a flexible vaccine delivery system is required. We studied whether cationic liposomes are suitable for this purpose. METHODS: Fifteen SIINFEKL T cell epitope-containing SLPs, widely differing in hydrophobicity and isoelectric point, were separately loaded in cationic liposomes via the dehydration-rehydration method. Particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) were measured via dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential with laser Doppler electrophoresis. Peptide loading was fluorescently determined and the immunogenicity of the formulated peptides was assessed in co-cultures of dendritic cells (DCs) and CD8+ T-cells in vitro. RESULTS: All SLPs were loaded in cationic liposomes by using three different loading method variants, depending on the SLP characteristics. The fifteen liposomal formulations had a comparable size (< 200 nm), PDI (< 0.3) and zeta potential (22-30 mV). Cationic liposomes efficiently delivered the SLPs to DCs that subsequently activated SIINFEKL-specific CD8+ T-cells, indicating improved immunological activity of the SLPs. CONCLUSION: Cationic liposomes can accommodate a wide range of different SLPs and are therefore a potential delivery platform for personalized cancer vaccines.

Formulation, Delivery and Stability of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins for Effective Bone Regeneration.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are responsible for bone formation during embryogenesis and bone regeneration and remodeling. The osteoinductive action of BMPs, especially BMP-2 and BMP-7, has led to their use in a range of insurmountable treatments where intervention is required for effective bone regeneration. Introduction of BMP products to the market, however, was not without reports of multiple complications and side effects. Aiming for optimization of the therapeutic efficacy and safety, efforts have been focused on improving the delivery of BMPs to lower the administered dose, localize the protein, and prolong its retention time at the site of action. A major challenge with these efforts is that the protein stability should be maintained. With this review we attempt to shed light on how the stability of BMPs can be affected in the formulation and delivery processes. We first provide a short overview of the current standing of the complications experienced with BMP products. We then discuss the different delivery parameters studied in association with BMPs, and their influence on the efficacy and safety of BMP treatments. In particular, the literature addressing the stability of BMPs and their possible interactions with components of the delivery system as well as their sensitivity to conditions of the formulation process is reviewed. In summary, recent developments in the fields of bioengineering and biopharmaceuticals suggest that a good understanding of the relationship between the formulation/delivery conditions and the stability of growth factors such as BMPs is a prerequisite for a safe and effective treatment.

Influenza T-cell epitope-loaded virosomes adjuvanted with CpG as a potential influenza vaccine.

PURPOSE: Influenza CD8(+) T-cell epitopes are conserved amongst influenza strains and can be recognized by influenza-specific cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs), which can rapidly clear infected cells. An influenza peptide vaccine that elicits these CTLs would therefore be an alternative to current influenza vaccines, which are not cross-reactive. However, peptide antigens are poorly immunogenic due to lack of delivery to antigen presenting cells, and therefore need additional formulation with a suitable delivery system. In this study, the potential of virosomes as a delivery system for an influenza T-cell peptide was investigated. METHODS: The conserved human HLA-A2.1 influenza T-cell epitope M158-66 was formulated with virosomes. The immunogenicity and protective effect of the peptide-loaded virosomes was assessed in HLA-A2 transgenic mice. Delivery properties of the virosomes were studied in mice and in in vitro dendritic cell cultures. RESULTS: Immunization of HLA-A2.1 transgenic C57BL/6 mice with peptide-loaded virosomes in the presence of the adjuvant CpG-ODN 1826 increased the number of peptide-specific CTLs. Vaccination with adjuvanted peptide-loaded virosomes reduced weight loss in mice after heterologous influenza infection. Association with fusion-active virosomes was found to be crucial for antigen uptake by dendritic cells, and subsequent induction of CTLs in mice. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that influenza virosomes loaded with conserved influenza epitopes could be the basis of a novel cross-protective influenza vaccine.

Efficient ex vivo induction of T cells with potent anti-tumor activity by protein antigen encapsulated in nanoparticles.

Protein antigen (Ag)-based immunotherapies have the advantage to induce T cells with a potentially broad repertoire of specificities. However, soluble protein Ag is generally poorly cross-presented in MHC class I molecules and not efficient in inducing robust cytotoxic CD8(+) T cell responses. In the present study, we have applied poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NP) which strongly improve protein Ag presentation by dendritic cells (DC) in the absence of additional Toll-like receptor ligands or targeting devices. Protein Ag-loaded DC were used as antigen presenting cells to stimulate T cells in vitro and subsequently analyzed in vivo for their anti-tumor effect via adoptive transfer, a treatment strategy widely studied in clinical trials as a therapy against various malignancies. In a direct comparison with soluble protein Ag, we show that DC presentation of protein encapsulated in plain PLGA-NP results in efficient activation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells as reflected by high numbers of activated CD69(+) and CD25(+), interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-2-producing T cells. Adoptive transfer of PLGA-NP-activated CD8(+) T cells in tumor-bearing mice displayed good in vivo expansion capacity, potent Ag-specific cytotoxicity and IFN-γ cytokine production, resulting in curing mice with established tumors. We conclude that delivery of protein Ag through encapsulation in plain PLGA-NP is a very efficient and simple procedure to stimulate potent anti-tumor T cells.

Quantification of Lipid and Peptide Content in Antigenic Peptide-loaded Liposome Formulations by Reversed-phase UPLC using UV Absorbance and Evaporative Light Scattering Detection.

Antigenic peptide-loaded cationic liposomes have shown promise as cancer vaccines. Quantification of both peptides and lipids is critical for quality control of such vaccines for clinical translation. In this work we describe a reversed phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (RP-UPLC) method that separates lipids (DOTAP, DOPC and their degradation products) and two physicochemically different peptides within 12 min. Samples were prepared by dilution in a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of methanol and water. Peptide quantification was done via UV detection and lipids were quantified by an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD), both coupled to the RP-UPLC system, with high precision (RSD < 3.5%). We showed that the presence of lipids and peptides did not mutually influence their quantification. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), as determined in the ICH guidelines, were 6 and 20 ng for DOTAP, 12 ng and 40 ng for DOPC, 3.0 ng and 8.0 ng for peptide A and 2.4 ng and 7.2 ng for the more hydrophobic peptide B. Finally, lipid degradation of DOTAP and DOPC was monitored in peptide loaded DOTAP:DOPC liposomes upon storage at 4 °C and 40 °C.

Particles in Biopharmaceutical Formulations, Part 2: An Update on Analytical Techniques and Applications for Therapeutic Proteins, Viruses, Vaccines and Cells.

Particles in biopharmaceutical formulations remain a hot topic in drug product development. With new product classes emerging it is crucial to discriminate particulate active pharmaceutical ingredients from particulate impurities. Technical improvements, new analytical developments and emerging tools (e.g., machine learning tools) increase the amount of information generated for particles. For a proper interpretation and judgment of the generated data a thorough understanding of the measurement principle, suitable application fields and potential limitations and pitfalls is required. Our review provides a comprehensive overview of novel particle analysis techniques emerging in the last decade for particulate impurities in therapeutic protein formulations (protein-related, excipient-related and primary packaging material-related), as well as particulate biopharmaceutical formulations (virus particles, virus-like particles, lipid nanoparticles and cell-based medicinal products). In addition, we review the literature on applications, describe specific analytical approaches and illustrate advantages and drawbacks of currently available techniques for particulate biopharmaceutical formulations.

Together is Better: mRNA Co-Encapsulation in Lipoplexes is Required to Obtain Ratiometric Co-Delivery and Protein Expression on the Single Cell Level.

Liposomes can efficiently deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) into cells. When mRNA cocktails encoding different proteins are needed, a considerable challenge is to efficiently deliver all mRNAs into the cytosol of each individual cell. In this work, two methods are explored to co-deliver varying ratiometric doses of mRNA encoding red (R) or green (G) fluorescent proteins and it is found that packaging mRNAs into the same lipoplexes (mingle-lipoplexes) is crucial to efficiently deliver multiple mRNA types into the cytosol of individual cells according to the pre-defined ratio. A mixture of lipoplexes containing only one mRNA type (single-lipoplexes), however, seem to follow the "first come - first serve" principle, resulting in a large variation of R/G uptake and expression levels for individual cells leading to ratiometric dosing only on the population level, but rarely on the single-cell level. These experimental observations are quantitatively explained by a theoretical framework based on the stochasticity of mRNA uptake in cells and endosomal escape of mingle- and single-lipoplexes, respectively. Furthermore, the findings are confirmed in 3D retinal organoids and zebrafish embryos, where mingle-lipoplexes outperformed single-lipoplexes to reliably bring both mRNA types into single cells. This benefits applications that require a strict control of protein expression in individual cells.

The Use of a Staggered Herringbone Micromixer for the Preparation of Rigid Liposomal Formulations Allows Efficient Encapsulation of Antigen and Adjuvant.

Anionic liposomal formulations have previously shown to have intrinsic tolerogenic capacity and these properties have been related to the rigidity of the particles. The combination of highly rigid anionic liposomes to deliver tolerogenic adjuvants and antigen peptides has potential applications for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. However, the preparation of these highly rigid anionic liposomes using traditional methods such as lipid film hydration presents problems in terms of scalability and loading efficiency of some costly tolerogenic adjuvants like 1-α,25-dihydroxyvitaminD3. Here we propose the use of an off-the-shelf staggered herringbone micromixer for the preparation of these formulations and performed a systematic study on the effect of temperature and flow conditions on the size and polydispersity index of the formulations. Furthermore, we show that the system allows for the encapsulation of a wide variety of peptides and significantly higher loading efficiency of 1-α,25-dihydroxyvitaminD3 compared to the traditional lipid film hydration method, without compromising their non-inflammatory interaction with dendritic cells. Therefore, the microfluidics method presented here is a valuable tool for the preparation of highly rigid tolerogenic liposomes in a fast, size-tuneable and scalable manner.

Stress Factors in Primary Packaging, Transportation and Handling of Protein Drug Products and Their Impact on Product Quality.

Protein-based biologic drugs encounter a variety of stress factors during drug substance (DS) and drug product (DP) manufacturing, and the subsequent steps that result in clinical administration by the end user. This article is the third in a series of commentaries on these stress factors and their effects on biotherapeutics. It focuses on assessing the potential negative impact from primary packaging, transportation, and handling on the quality of the DP. The risk factors include ingress of hazardous materials such as oxidizing residuals from the sterilization process, delamination- or rubber stopper-derived particles, silicone oil droplets, and leachables into the formulation, as well as surface interactions between the protein and packaging materials, all of which may cause protein degradation. The type of primary packaging container used (such as vials and prefilled syringes) may substantially influence the impact of transportation and handling stresses on DP Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs). Mitigations via process development and robustness studies as well as control strategies for DP CQAs are discussed, along with current industry best practices for scale-down and in-use stability studies. We conclude that more research is needed on postproduction transportation and handling practices and their implications for protein DP quality.

Uptake Kinetics Of Liposomal Formulations of Differing Charge Influences Development of in Vivo Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy.

Dendritic cells (DCs) control adaptive immunity and are therefore attractive for in vivo targeting to either induce immune activation or tolerance, depending on disease. Liposomes, nanoparticles comprised of a lipid bi-layer, provide a nanoplatform for loading disease-relevant antigen, adjuvant and DC-targeting molecules simultaneously. However, it is yet not fully understood how liposomal formulations affect uptake by DCs and DC function. Here, we examined monocyte-derived DC (moDC) and skin DC uptake of six different liposomal formulations, together with their DC-modulating effect. Contrary to literature, we show using imaging flow cytometry that anionic or neutral liposomes are taken up more efficiently than cationic liposomes by moDCs, or by skin DCs after intradermal injection. None of the formulations yielded significant modulation of DC function as determined by the upregulation of maturation markers and cytokine production. These results suggest that anionic liposomes would be more suitable as vaccine carriers for a dermal application.

Transcutaneous immunization studies in mice using diphtheria toxoid-loaded vesicle formulations and a microneedle array.

PURPOSE: To determine the immunogenicity of diphtheria toxoid (DT) formulated in two types of vesicles following transcutaneous immunization (TCI) of mice onto microneedle array-treated skin. METHODS: DT-containing cationic liposomes or anionic surfactant-based vesicles were prepared by extrusion and sonication. The physicochemical properties were characterized in terms of size, ζ-potential, vesicle elasticity and antigen association. TCI was performed by applying formulations onto intact or microneedle array-pretreated mice skin, using cholera toxin as an adjuvant. Subcutaneous and intradermal immunizations were as control. Immune responses were evaluated by IgG and neutralizing antibody titers, and the immune-stimulatory properties were assessed using cultured dendritic cells. RESULTS: Stable DT-containing cationic liposomes (∼150 nm) and anionic vesicles (∼100 nm) were obtained. Incorporation of Span 80 increased liposome elasticity. About 90% and 77% DT was associated with liposomes and vesicles, respectively. TCI of all formulations resulted in substantial antibody titers only if microneedle pretreatment was applied. Co-administration of cholera toxin further augmented the immune responses of TCI. However, vesicle formulations didn't enhance the immunogenicity on either intact or microneedle-treated skin and showed low stimulatory activity on dendritic cells. CONCLUSIONS: Microneedle pretreatment and cholera toxin, but not antigen association to vesicles, enhances the immunogenicity of topically applied DT.

Evaluation of the high-pressure extrusion technique as a method for sizing plasmid DNA-containing cationic liposomes.

A promising strategy to improve the immunogenic potential of DNA vaccines is the formulation of plasmid DNA (pDNA) with cationic liposomes. In this respect, particle size may be of crucial importance. This study aimed at the evaluation of high-pressure extrusion as a method for sizing cationic liposomes after entrapment of pDNA. This is a well-known sizing method for liposomes, but so far, it has not been applied for liposomes that are already loaded with pDNA. Liposomes composed of egg PC, DOTAP, and DOPE with entrapped pDNA were prepared by the dehydration-rehydration method and subjected to various extrusion cycles, comparing different membrane pore sizes and extrusion frequencies. At optimized extrusion conditions, liposome diameter (Zave) and polydispersity index (PDI) were reduced from 560 nm and 0.56-150 nm and 0.14 respectively, and 35% of the pDNA was retained. Importantly, gel electrophoresis and transfection experiments with pDNA extracted from these extruded liposomes demonstrated the preservation of the structural and functional integrity of the pDNA. The reduction in size resulted in enhanced transfection of HeLa cells, as detected by functional expression of the fluorescent protein, eGFP. In addition, these liposomes were able to stimulate Toll-like receptor 9, indicating efficient endosomal uptake and release of the included pDNA. In conclusion, high-pressure extrusion is a suitable technique to size cationic liposomes with entrapped pDNA and allows preparation of well-defined nanosized pDNA-liposomes, with preserved pDNA integrity. Their improved transfection efficiency and ability to activate an important pattern-recognition receptor are favorable properties for DNA vaccine delivery vehicles.

Rapid aggregation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies by bubbling induced air/liquid interfacial and agitation stress at different conditions.

Degradation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAb) due to interfacial agitation through air bubbling was investigated. Samples containing mAb in phosphate buffered saline were subjected to rapid bubbling by using a peristaltic pump at an air flow rate of 11.5 mL/min. Samples were analyzed by visual observation, UV-Vis, fluorescence, circular dichroism and infrared spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), dynamic light scattering, microscopy, and cell-based activity assays. The stressed samples showed increasing turbidity with bubbling time, with mAb1 showing a protein loss of 53% in the supernatant at the latest time point (240 min), indicating formation of sub-visible and visible aggregates. Aggregate rich samples exhibited altered secondary structure and higher hydrophobicity with 40% reduction in activity. The supernatants of the stressed samples showed unchanged secondary and tertiary structure without the presence of any oligomers in SEC. Furthermore, the impact of various factors that could affect aggregation was investigated and it was found that the extent of aggregation was affected by protein concentration, sample volume, presence of surfactants, temperature, air flow rate, and presence of silicone oil. In conclusion, exposure to air/liquid interfacial stress through bubbling into liquid mAb samples effectively generated sub-visible and visible aggregates, making air bubbling an attractive approach for interfacial stress degradation studies of mAbs.

Detergent-aided polymersome preparation.

Until now, most preparative methods used to form polymeric vesicles involve either organic cosolvents or sonication. In this communication, we demonstrate for the first time a detergent-aided method to produce polymersomes. Peptidic polymersomes were formed from the rod-rod block copolymer PBLG(36)-E, where PBLG is hydrophobic poly(gamma-benzyl l-glutamate) and E is a hydrophilic designed peptide. The block copolymer was first solubilized by detergent micelles in aqueous buffer, after which the concentration of detergent was reduced by dilution, transforming the particle morphology in solution from mixed micelles to polymersomes. The polymersome formation was monitored with dynamic light scattering and confirmed with transmission electron microscopy. Polymersomes with average diameters of approximately 300 nm were obtained as well as discs with average diameters of approximately 100 nm. This detergent-based method can be used to create polymersomes with a range of properties, as verified by its application to another biocompatible block copolymer, the flexible polybutadiene(46)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)(30). The technique will be particularly useful when delicate biomacromolecules such as (membrane) proteins, peptides, or nucleic acids are to be encapsulated in the polymersomes because the detergents used are compatible with these compounds, and the possible denaturing effect of sonication or organic solvents on the biological activity of the molecule of interest is avoided.

Fluorescent molecular rotors as dyes to characterize polysorbate-containing IgG formulations.

PURPOSE: The aim was to evaluate fluorescent molecular rotors (DCVJ and CCVJ), which are mainly sensitive to viscosity, for the characterization of polysorbate-containing IgG formulations and compare them to the polarity-sensitive dyes ANS, Bis-ANS and Nile Red. METHODS: IgG formulations with polysorbate 20 or 80 were stressed below the aggregation temperature and analyzed by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence and by HP-SEC with UV and fluorescent dye detection (Bis-ANS and CCVJ). Furthermore, commercial protein preparations of therapeutic proteins (Enbrel 50 mg, Humira 40 mg and MabThera 100 mg) were aggregated accordingly and analyzed with CCVJ fluorescence and HP-SEC. RESULTS: Contrarily to (Bis-)ANS and Nile Red, the molecular rotors DCVJ and CCVJ showed low background fluorescence in polysorbate-containing buffers. Time-resolved fluorescence experiments confirmed the steady-state fluorescence data. Both DCVJ and CCVJ showed enhanced fluorescence intensity for aggregated IgG formulations and were suitable for the characterization of polysorbate-containing IgG formulations in steady-state fluorescence and HP-SEC with dye detection (CCVJ). CCVJ was capable of detecting thermally induced aggregation in the commercial polysorbate-containing products Enbrel 50 mg, Humira 40 mg and MabThera 100 mg. CONCLUSION: Fluorescent molecular rotors are suitable probes to detect aggregation in polysorbate-containing IgG formulations.

Critical evaluation of Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) by NanoSight for the measurement of nanoparticles and protein aggregates.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) technique, compare it with dynamic light scattering (DLS) and test its performance in characterizing drug delivery nanoparticles and protein aggregates. METHODS: Standard polystyrene beads of sizes ranging from 60 to 1,000 nm and physical mixtures thereof were analyzed with NTA and DLS. The influence of different ratios of particle populations was tested. Drug delivery nanoparticles and protein aggregates were analyzed by NTA and DLS. Live monitoring of heat-induced protein aggregation was performed with NTA. RESULTS: NTA was shown to accurately analyze the size distribution of monodisperse and polydisperse samples. Sample visualization and individual particle tracking are features that enable a thorough size distribution analysis. The presence of small amounts of large (1,000 nm) particles generally does not compromise the accuracy of NTA measurements, and a broad range of population ratios can easily be detected and accurately sized. NTA proved to be suitable to characterize drug delivery nanoparticles and protein aggregates, complementing DLS. Live monitoring of heat-induced protein aggregation provides information about aggregation kinetics and size of submicron aggregates. CONCLUSION: NTA is a powerful characterization technique that complements DLS and is particularly valuable for analyzing polydisperse nanosized particles and protein aggregates.

Complement Receptor Targeted Liposomes Encapsulating the Liver X Receptor Agonist GW3965 Accumulate in and Stabilize Atherosclerotic Plaques.

Atherosclerosis is characterized by the retention of lipids in foam cells in the arterial intima. The liver X receptor (LXR) agonist GW3965 is a promising therapeutic compound, since it induces reverse cholesterol transport in foam cells. However, hepatic LXR activation increases plasma and liver lipid levels, inhibiting its clinical development. Herein, a formulation that specifically enhances GW3965 deposition in the atherosclerotic lesion is aimed to be developed. GW3965 is encapsulated in liposomes functionalized with the cyclic peptide Lyp-1 (CGNKRTRGC), which binds the p32 receptor expressed on foam cells. These liposomes show preferential uptake by foam cells in vitro and higher accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques in mice compared to non-targeted liposomes as determined by in vivo imaging. Flow cytometry analysis of plaques reveals increased retention of Lyp-1 liposomes in atherosclerotic plaque macrophages compared to controls (p < 0.05). Long term treatment of established plaques in LDLR -/- mice with GW3965-containing Lyp-1 liposomes significantly reduces plaque macrophage content by 50% (p < 0.01). Importantly, GW3965-containing Lyp-1 liposomes do not increase plasma or hepatic lipid content. Thus, GW3965-containing Lyp-1 liposomes successfully target the atherosclerotic macrophages allowing plaque stabilization without commonly observed side effects of LXR agonists.

What Makes Polysorbate Functional? Impact of Polysorbate 80 Grade and Quality on IgG Stability During Mechanical Stress.

Polysorbate 80 (PS80) is a commonly used surfactant in therapeutic protein formulations to mitigate adsorption and interface-induced protein aggregation. Several PS80 grades and qualities are available on the market for parenteral application. The role of PS80 grade on protein stability remains debatable, and the impact of (partially) degraded PS on protein aggregation is not yet well understood. In our study, a monoclonal antibody (IgG) was subjected to 3 different mechanical stress conditions in the presence of multicompendial (MC) and Chinese pharmacopeia (ChP) grade PS80. Furthermore, IgG formulations were spiked with (partly) hydrolyzed PS80 to investigate the effect of PS80 degradants on protein stability. PS80 functionality was assessed by measuring the extent of protein aggregation and particle formation induced during mechanical stress by using size-exclusion chromatography, dynamic light scattering, backgrounded membrane imaging, and flow imaging microscopy. No distinguishable differences in PS80 functionality between MC and ChP grade were observed in the 3 stress tests. However, with increasing degree of PS80 hydrolysis, higher counts of subvisible particles were measured after stress. Furthermore, higher levels of PS80 degradants at a constant PS80 concentration may destabilize the IgG. In conclusion, MC and ChP grade PS80 are equally protective, but PS80 degradants compromise IgG stability.

Atomic force microscopy measurements of anionic liposomes reveal the effect of liposomal rigidity on antigen-specific regulatory T cell responses.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are vital for maintaining a balanced immune response and their dysfunction is often associated with auto-immune disorders. We have previously shown that antigen-loaded anionic liposomes composed of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and cholesterol can induce strong antigen-specific Treg responses. We hypothesized that altering the rigidity of these liposomes while maintaining their size and surface charge would affect their capability of inducing Treg responses. The rigidity of liposomes is affected in part by the length and saturation of carbon chains of the phospholipids in the bilayer, and in part by the presence of cholesterol. We used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure the rigidity of anionic OVA323-containing liposomes composed of different types of PC and PG, with or without cholesterol, in a molar ratio of 4:1(:2) distearoyl (DS)PC:DSPG (Young's modulus (YM) 3611 ± 1271 kPa), DSPC:DSPG:CHOL (1498 ± 531 kPa), DSPC:dipalmitoyl (DP)PG:CHOL (1208 ± 538), DPPC:DPPG:CHOL (1195 ± 348 kPa), DSPC:dioleoyl (DO)PG:CHOL (825 ± 307 kPa), DOPC:DOPG:CHOL (911 ± 447 kPa), and DOPC:DOPG (494 ± 365 kPa). Next, we assessed if rigidity affects the association of liposomes to bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) in vitro. Aside from DOPC:DOPG liposomes, we observed a positive correlation between liposomal rigidity and cellular association. Finally, we show that rigidity positively correlates with Treg responses in vitro in murine DCs and in vivo in mice. Our findings underline the suitability of AFM to measure liposome rigidity and the importance of this parameter when designing liposomes as a vaccine delivery system.

Critical Evaluation of Microfluidic Resistive Pulse Sensing for Quantification and Sizing of Nanometer- and Micrometer-Sized Particles in Biopharmaceutical Products.

The objective was to evaluate performance, strengths, and limitations of the microfluidic resistive pulse sensing (MRPS) technique for the characterization of particles in the size range from about 50 to 2000 nm. MRPS, resonant mass measurement (RMM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and dynamic light scattering were compared for the analysis of nanometer-sized polystyrene (PS) beads, liposomes, bacteria, and protein aggregates. An electrical conductivity of at least 3 mS/cm (equivalent to 25 mM NaCl) was determined as a key requirement for reliable analysis with MRPS. Particle size distributions of PS beads determined by MRPS, NTA, and RMM correlated well. However, counting precision varied significantly among the techniques and was best for RMM followed by MRPS and NTA. As determined by measuring single and mixed PS bead populations, MRPS showed the highest peak resolution for sizing. RMM and MRPS were superior over dynamic light scattering and NTA for the characterization of stressed protein samples. Finally, MRPS proved to be the only analytical technique able to characterize both bacteria and liposomes. In conclusion, MRPS is an orthogonal technique alongside other established techniques for a comprehensive analysis of a samples particle size distribution and particle concentration.