Advancement in Vaccinology: New Era in Formulation Strategies

Abstract

The development of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases has been one of the most important contributions of pharmaceutical sciences. Stemming from the vaccine research and development, not only a large number of diseasespecific vaccines have been developed, but also enormous efforts have been made to improve the effectiveness of vaccines in order to provide optimal immunization. Understanding the science at a molecular level and related fields provided an opportunity for the development of new vaccines that are based on rational drug design. Introduction of nanotechnology and the development of nanocarrier-based vaccines have started to receive a lot of attention in order to provide effective immunization through better targeting and by triggering antibody responses at the cellular level. Recent advances in understanding of the pathogenesis of infectious diseases have opened up doors for newer techniques. The genomic approach for antigen identification followed by its chemical synthesis has started the trend in genetic immunization. It is likely that vaccinology will greatly benefit from the emerging genomics technologies such as bioinformatics, proteomics, DNA microarray, signature tagged mutagenesis and in-vivo expression technology. This review article is intended to highlight usefulness of computational techniques in vaccine design, their formulation criteria and describe the past, current and future trends in vaccine development to formulate and deliver these vaccines appropriately to maximize the potential of modern advances in pathogenesis and vaccinology.