Application of Mannose‐Functionalized Microgel as a Novel Vaccine Delivery Platform for Subunit Vaccines

Abstract The recent outbreaks of a series of new infectious diseases have highlighted the pressing need to develop efficacious countermeasures, including preventive vaccines. Subunit vaccines are developed using the subunit proteins from pathogens to induce immune responses, which are safe but often limited by low immunogenicity. Particulate vaccines can potentially enhance the endocytosis efficiency of antigen‐presenting cells (APCs) and promote antigen delivery to the draining lymph nodes. Besides, the particulate vaccines that contain pathogen‐associated molecular patterns can promote antigen‐presenting by binding to pattern recognition receptors, thereby enhancing the efficacy of vaccination. Here, a new type of particulate subunit vaccine is developed, which is composed of model antigen ovalbumin and mannose‐modified microgels. The microgels can prevent the degradation of the antigen and control the slow release of the encapsulate antigen in a sustained manner. The mannose modified on the microgels can target the mannose receptor of the APCs, further improving the endocytosis efficiency of APCs and promoting the effectiveness of the subunit vaccine. This study addresses that the mannose‐modified microgel as a carrier can effectively promote the efficiency of the subunit vaccine, hence providing a promising platform for improving subunit vaccine.