This practical guide offers concise coverage of the scientific and pharmaceutical aspects of protein delivery from controlled release microparticulate systems-emphasizing protein stability during encapsulation and release.

This practical guide offers concise coverage of the scientific and pharmaceutical aspects of protein delivery from controlled release microparticulate systems-emphasizing protein stability during encapsulation and release.

Advances in biotechnology have provided scientists with an increasing number of biopharmaceuticals such as novel peptide and protein drugs as well as nucleic acid based drugs for gene therapy. However, successful delivery of these biopharmaceuticals is a major challenge because their molecular properties lead to poor physical and chemical stability in the body and limited membrane permeability. Therefore researchers are developing a range of new delivery technologies and materials to enable these new drugs to be delivered intact to their target sites. Delivery Technologies for Biopharmaceuticals describes strategies to overcome the main barriers for successful delivery of therapeutic peptides, proteins, and nucleic acid-based drugs or vaccines related to the site of administration and the target site. Many of the approaches described are reported in formulations in current clinical trials as well as in marketed products. Contents include: challenges in delivery of biopharmaceuticals novel formulation approaches for peptide and protein injectables non-viral chemical vectors and viral technology for delivery of nucleic acid based drugs immune response, adjuvants and delivery systems for vaccines several examples of delivery systems for different biopharmaceuticals a critical assessment of delivery technologies for biopharmaceuticals Delivery Technologies for Biopharmaceuticals is an essential single-volume introduction to the technologies used by researchers to ensure efficient delivery of this exciting new class of drugs. It will be of value to researchers and students working in drug delivery, formulation, biopharmaceuticals, medicinal chemistry, and new materials development.

Recent years have seen the development of novel technologies that use nanoparticles and microparticles to deliver vaccines by the oral and microneedle-based transdermal route of administration. These new technologies enable the formulation of vaccine particles containing vaccine antigens, without loss of their biological activity during the formula

Leading experts survey the currently available technologies designed to improve the delivery of today's cancer chemotherapeutic agents. The authors review both the theoretical and practical considerations governing conventional and nonconventional methods of drug administration, and identify promising opportunities for product development. In their outline and discussion of the use of novel formulation technologies-including synthetic polymers and biomaterials for prolonged or sustained drug release to achieve potentially greater therapeutic effect-they profile those technologies that have resulted in a number of approved and late-stage clinical products.

The prevention and treatment of cancer and infectious diseases requires vaccines that can mediate cytotoxic T lymphocyte-based immunity. A promising strategy is protein subunit vaccines composed of purified protein antigens and immunostimulatory adjuvants, such as Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists. In this research, we developed two new biodegradable polymeric delivery vehicles for protein antigens and TLR agonists, as model vaccine delivery systems. This work was guided by the central hypothesis that an effective vaccine delivery system would have stimulus-responsive degradation and release, biodegradability into excretable non-acidic degradation products, and the ability to incorporate various TLR-inducing adjuvants. The first vaccine delivery system is a cross-linked polyion complex micelle which efficiently encapsulates proteins, DNA, and RNA. The micelle-based delivery system consists of a block copolymer of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(L-lysine), cross-linked by dithiopyridyl side groups to provide transport stability and intracellular release. The second delivery system consists of solid biodegradable microparticles encapsulating proteins, nucleic acids, and hydrophobic compounds. The microparticles are composed of pH-sensitive polyketals, which are a new family of hydrophobic, linear polymers containing backbone ketal linkages. Polyketals are synthesized via a new polymerization method based on the acetal exchange reaction and degrade into non-acidic, excretable degradation products. In addition, the technique of hydrophobic ion pairing was utilized to enhance the encapsulation of ovalbumin, DNA, and RNA in polyketal microparticles via a single emulsion method. Using in vitro and in vivo immunological models, we demonstrated that the micelle- and polyketal-based vaccine delivery systems enhanced the cross-priming of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The model vaccines were composed of ovalbumin antigen and various TLR-inducing adjuvants including CpG-DNA, monophosphoryl lipid A, and dsRNA. The results demonstrate that the cross-linked micelles and polyketal microparticles have considerable potential as delivery systems for protein-based vaccines.