STABILIZATION OF MEASLES VIRUS FOR VACCINE FORMULATION

Monday, 21st of July 2014

[source]Human Vaccine and Immunotherapeutics[|source]

Cost is a significant factor when considering improvement to vaccination programs in developing countries. One way to reduce vaccine costs is to generate vaccines with improved stability characteristics; vaccines that do not require a cold chain, for example, should be cheaper to deliver and store. Furthermore, a loss in activity of the vaccine under suboptimal storage conditions is thought to contribute significantly to less effective vaccination programs. 

In this report, the authors present the results of a comprehensive biophysical characterization of the measles virus (MV), as well as empirical phase diagram informed screening of potential stabilizers. Subsequent biological experiments show that excipients identified by this process are able to preserve viral infectivity. Detailed full text article can be downloaded from: https://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/vaccines/article/5863/?nocache=1328529216

Abstract

An attenuated live measles virus (MV) was characterized by several biophysical methods as a function of temperature and pH. Following a method developed previously, the resultant light scattering and spectroscopic data were synthesized into an empirical phase diagram that visually and simultaneously represents the entire data set. Using this empirically-based phase diagram, screening assays were developed to identify potential vaccine stabilizers. Various compounds are shown by these assays to inhibit the temperature-induced aggregation of viral particles, and also to protect the integrity of the viral envelope. Accelerated stability assays show that, upon thermal challenge, MV formulated with these excipients retains its infectivity to a significant extent. Thus, the enhanced physical stability produced by this method is shown to protect the biological activity of this important but labile vaccine.