Study of the chemical and structural integrity of virus-like particles and their incorporation into ordered mesoporous silica

• Grant number: 22/01951-8
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Initial Project
• Start date: February 01, 2023
• End date: January 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biophysics - Molecular Biophysics
• Principal Investigator: Jose Luiz de Souza Lopes
• Grantee: Jose Luiz de Souza Lopes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Marcia Carvalho de Abreu Fantini ; Soraia Attie Calil Jorge ; Tereza da Silva Martins ; Viviane Fongaro Botosso
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/05112-9 - Study of the incorporation of virus-like particles into SBA-15: an analysis with circular dichroism., BP.IC

Abstract

In the development of promising, safe and effective vaccines, different approaches are recruited, such as the employment of inactivated and/or attenuated virus, the use of virus-like particles (VLPs), and the incorporation of antigens into nanostructured silicas. VLPs are widely accepted because the immune system responds to them in a similar way to the response against vaccines of inactivated complete virus, whereas ordered mesoporous silicas are able to act as a protective vehicle for vaccines, increase stability, optimize immune response, and act as an adjuvant in the preparation of oral vaccines. In this project, in order to ensure the chemical and structural integrity of the Zika, the rabies and the SARS-CoV-2 VLPs, we propose the use of circular dichroism, fluorescence, dynamic light scattering and small angle X-ray scattering spectroscopies to characterize the physical-chemical parameters and monitor the structural stability of these VLPs (at different pHs, temperatures, environmental conditions and in time), and to characterize their incorporation into SBA-15 particles and verify their effectiveness as vaccine protective vehicle. The detailed knowledge of the morphological and structural properties of the VLPs and characterizations of the factors capable of affecting their integrity are fundamental to collaborate in their use as a vaccine strategy. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MIRANDA, MATHEUS C. R.; NUNES, CARMEN M.; SANTOS, LUANA F.; DA SILVA, LEONARDO B.; DE JESUS, VINICIUS R.; ANDREO FILHO, NEWTON; PEDRO, JESSICA A. F.; LOPES, JOSE L. S.; OLIVEIRA, CRISTIANO L. P.; FANTINI, MARCIA C. A.; et al. Ordered mesoporous silicas for potential applications in solid vaccine formulations. Vaccine, v. 42, n. 3, p. 12-pg., 2024-02-01. (19/08582-5, 22/08360-5, 19/19567-7, 22/01951-8)

CAVINI, ITALO A.; FONTES, MARINA G.; ZERAIK, ANA ELIZA; LOPES, JOSE L. S.; ARAUJO, ANA PAULA U.. Novel lipid-interaction motifs within the C-terminal domain of Septin10 from Schistosoma mansoni. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES, v. 1866, n. 7, p. 9-pg., 2024-07-19. (18/19992-7, 16/13961-7, 22/01951-8, 20/02897-1)