From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2007-05-14 18:51:12 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] novel vaccine delivery system, and novel coating concept
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Just think of the potential veterinary applications for each...
There are photos and more information at the URL:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/jhu-sdo051407.php
BEGIN QUOTE
Public release date: 14-May-2007
[ Print Article | E-mail Article | Close Window ]
Contact: Phil Sneiderman
prs@jhu.edu
443-287-9960
Johns Hopkins University
Students devise oral quick-dissolve strips for rotavirus vaccine
Simple drug-delivery system could curb illness that kills children
Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering undergraduates developed a quick-
dissolving film that may someday deliver rotavirus vaccine to infants=20
in impoverished areas. Co-team leader Christopher Yu holds a sample=20
of the material....
Click here for more information.
A thin strip that dissolves in the mouth like a popular breath-
freshener could someday provide life-saving rotavirus vaccine to=20
infants in impoverished areas. The innovative drug-delivery system=20
was developed by Johns Hopkins undergraduate biomedical engineering=20
students.
During a two-semester course, the seven-student team fabricated a=20
thin film that should melt quickly in a baby=92s mouth, prompting the=20
child to swallow the vaccine. The dissolved medication is coated with=20
a material to protect it in the child=92s stomach. This coating is also =
designed to release the vaccine in the small intestine, where it=20
should trigger an immune response to prevent a rotavirus infection.
The novel drug-delivery system is needed because rotavirus is a=20
common cause of severe diarrhea and vomiting in children, leading to=20
about 600,000 deaths annually. Most of these occur in developing=20
nations, where medical services to treat intestinal distress are not=20
widely available. Rotavirus vaccine to prevent this illness is=20
currently produced in a liquid or freeze-dried form that must be=20
chilled for transport and storage, making it very expensive for use=20
in impoverished areas. In addition, newborns sometimes spit out the=20
liquid, a problem that is less likely to occur with a strip that=20
sticks to and dissolves on the tongue in less than a minute.
To address the drawbacks of the liquid vaccine, the Johns Hopkins=20
students developed a thin film delivery system that would be easy to=20
store and transport and would not require refrigeration. Although=20
further refinement is needed to maintain the viability of the=20
vaccine, the delivery system itself appears sound, and the Johns=20
Hopkins Technology Transfer staff has applied for a provisional=20
patent. The thin film vaccine system was among the undergraduate=20
projects introduced to the public this month at the university=92s=20
annual Biomedical Engineering Design Day showcase.
Unlike liquid formulas of rotavirus vaccine, the thin film would not=20
need to be kept cool. This would reduce storage and distribution=20
costs in developing nations.
Click here for more information.
"The idea is that you would place one of these dissolving strips on=20
the infant=92s tongue," said Hai-Quan Mao, the team=92s Johns Hopkins=20
faculty advisor. "Because the strips are in a solid form, they would=20
cost much less to store and transport than the liquid vaccine. We=20
wanted this to be as simple and as inexpensive as possible."
The idea originated last year at Aridis Pharmaceuticals, a San Jose,=20
Calif., firm that possesses vaccine stabilization technologies and a=20
rotavirus vaccine that is made stable at room temperatures. Seeking a=20
product resembling breath-freshening strips to deliver the vaccine,=20
Vu Truong, cofounder and chief scientific officer at Aridis,=20
contacted Mao. Truong earned a doctorate in pharmacology and=20
molecular science from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and knew=20
of Mao=92s expertise in biomaterials. Mao, an assistant professor of=20
materials science and engineering in the university's Whiting School=20
of Engineering, described the vaccine challenge to one of his=20
undergraduate lab assistants, senior Christopher Yu, who became co-
leader of the team that tackled the project.
Initially, the students confronted several obstacles. They were=20
unable to copy the manufacturing process used to make breath strips=20
because the harsh solvent and high temperatures used would destroy=20
the vaccine. They also had to devise a protective coating that would=20
remain intact when exposed to stomach acid but would dissolve in the=20
chemically neutral environment of the small intestine.
As envisioned by the design team, a small piece of this film would=20
stick to and then dissolve quickly on an infant's tongue, causing the=20
child to swallow the rotavirus...
Click here for more information.
Through extensive research and testing, the students solved these=20
problems. They refined a room-temperature production and drying=20
process to make the strips and identified an FDA-approved=20
biocompatible polymer coating that would protect the vaccine from=20
stomach acid but release the medicine in the small intestine. The=20
coating is pH-responsive, meaning it delivers its medical payload=20
only when the acid-alkaline level in its environment is appropriate.
"What the students have accomplished is a way to incorporate a pH-
responsive polymer system that works with an oral quick-dissolving=20
thin film," Truong said. "It=92s still very early in the process, but=20
the pieces they=92ve come up with have been very encouraging. We have=20
the delivery vehicle prototype. I=92m optimistic that we can make this=20
work with our vaccine."
Truong added, "I was pleasantly surprised. Professor Mao entrusted=20
this project to some cream-of-the-crop students. They have delivered=20
the kind of results that even seasoned professionals might not have=20
delivered."
Truong said his company is in talks to fund further research in Mao=92s =
lab to refine the strips so that they can dispense the Aridis=20
rotavirus vaccine. Animal testing could begin later this year, he=20
said. "This is probably the second-most important childhood vaccine=20
needed in the developing world, right behind a malaria vaccine," he=20
said. "The mortality rate is high."
The student inventors are pleased about the potential public health=20
benefits. They also found the hands-on assignment to be a valuable=20
part of their engineering education. "This was a really good=20
experience," said Yu, the student co-team leader. "When you run into=20
problems in a project like this, you have to think hard about how to=20
solve them or work around them. It=92s much more rewarding than a basic =
textbook problem, where there=92s an expected answer and you don=92t=20
necessarily have to think as broadly or as creatively."
###
Yu, who is from Shreveport, La., and the other team leader, Rohan=20
Agrawal of Tampa, Fla., have been accepted into the biomedical=20
engineering master=92s degree program at Johns Hopkins. The other=20
members of the team were Yang Li, a senior from San Antonio, Texas;=20
Dhanya Rangaraj, a junior from Foothill Ranch, Calif.; Jonathan Yen,=20
a freshman from Hillsborough, Calif.; Shaoyi Zhang, a freshman from=20
San Jose, Calif.; and Judy Qiu, a freshman from Potomac Falls, Va.
The project was funded by the Mao lab and by a $16,000 E-Team grant=20
from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Association.
Robert H. Allen, an associate research professor in the Department of=20
Biomedical Engineering, was technical advisor for this project and=20
director of the design course.
Color images of the device and the researchers available; contact=20
Phil Sneiderman.
Related Links:
Johns Hopkins Department of Biomedical Engineering: http://
www.bme.jhu.edu
Hai-Quan Mao=92s Web page: http://www.jhu.edu/~maogroup/
END QUOTE
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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