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Taiwanese Scientist to Test AIDS Vaccine in Mainland China.

China to Improve Test Tube Baby Technology.

Harvard Univ. and HKU to Jointly Offer Course on Medical Administration.

China and HK Scientists Use Microwaves to Treat Liver Cancer Patients.

AgResearch's Interim Profits Up 40%.

Vaccine for Australia's Rabbits.

Korean Scientists Elucidate Bacterium Genome.

Bringing the Vision of Two Men to Greater Heights.

On a mission to stop bird flu.

Continuing a Father's Legacy.

Where Blood is its Business.

Recruiting Biotech CEOs in the Asia Pacific Region.

The gill mucosa is a convenient route for the administration of DNA vaccine to fish and other aquatic organisms. Nanocarriers have been considered for delivery; however, a suitable formulation is required. To devise an appropriate carrier, we have synthesized chitosan nanoparticles entrapping pDNA at N/P ratios of 1:1 and 2.5:1, using ionic gelation and microemulsion (μE) methods. For nanoparticle characterization, the size, morphology, zetapotential, and IR spectra were determined. The efficiency of pDNA entrapment was established by gel retardation assay. On the basis of the investigations, the loaded nanoparticles synthesized by μE method appear to have the required characteristics for effective delivery by this route.

To support the initiation of a clinical trial in humans, the immunogenicity of a plasmid DNA vaccine encoding the hemagglutinin (HA) of the swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV) isolate, A/California/04/09, formulated with the adjuvant, Vaxfectin^®, was administered intramuscularly to mice and rabbits at 100 μg and 1 mg DNA per injection, respectively, on Days 0 and 21. In hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays using the reassortant virus, A/CA/07/09 NYMC X-179A, the titers for all animals were < 10 before vaccination. Three weeks after the first vaccination, 88% of mice and 75% of rabbits reached an HI titer of ≥ 40 with geometric mean titers (GMT) of 73 and 95, respectively. Two weeks after the second vaccination, 100% of mice and rabbits reached an HI titer of ≥ 40 with GMTs of 987 (range: 320–2560) for mice and 1522 (range: 640–2560) for rabbits. Sera from vaccinated mice and rabbits were also tested for HI titers against related S-OIV isolates. For mouse sera at Day 42, the HI GMTs against A/California/07/09, A/Texas/15/09 and A/Mexico/4108/09 were 905, 1280, and 1174, respectively, and for rabbit sera at Day 35 were 1522, 1280, and 1280, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the Vaxfectin^®-adjuvanted S-OIV DNA vaccine is immunogenic and elicits HI antibodies that are reactive with related S-OIV.

Gene therapy holds tremendous promise in prevention and treatment of diseases as the approach is based on regulating the expression of genes that are responsible for pathological conditions. The biggest bottleneck for gene delivery has been the development of safe and efficacious delivery systems. Although non-viral vectors are considered as much safer options than their viral counterparts, they suffer from low transfection efficiency. In this review, we highlight the role of non-condensing polymeric delivery systems for oral and systemic gene delivery. Using evidence from contemporary literature, non-condensing polymeric microparticle and nanoparticle systems afford physical encapsulation of the nucleic acid construct and can be engineered for targeted delivery to tissues and cells. Additionally, these systems have shown less toxicity and afford sustained cytoplasmic DNA delivery for efficient nuclear uptake and transfection for both DNA vaccines and therapeutic genes.