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An Introduction to the Immune System and Vaccines
Published in Patricia G. Melloy, Viruses and Society, 2023
Another critical immunology question is understanding how reinfection by the same pathogen is “remembered” by the adaptive immune system. A strong memory response is necessary to protect the body if a pathogen presents itself in the future. Antibodies are a part of that memory bank. There are five major kinds of antibodies in the body, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig). They include IgM, IgA, IgD, IgG, and IgE (MADGE acronym to remember) (Nicholson 2016). A molecule that is foreign to the body that can react with an antibody is known as an antigen. Immunologists also use the more specific term of “immunogen” as a molecule that reacts with an antibody and causes an immune response (Cruse and Lewis 2009). However, antigen is more commonly used. Any of the four major macromolecules in nature—carbohydrate, nucleic acid, protein, or lipid—could be an antigen (Coico and Sunshine 2015). These macromolecules can be quite large, however, so it is not the entire macromolecule involved in the antigen-antibody interaction. A short region of the antigen, known as an epitope, is considered the “antigenic determinant” (Cruse and Lewis 2009).
Polymer-Based Protein Delivery Systems for Loco-Regional Administration
Published in Richard L. K. Glover, Daniel Nyanganyura, Rofhiwa Bridget Mulaudzi, Maluta Steven Mufamadi, Green Synthesis in Nanomedicine and Human Health, 2021
Muhammad Haji Mansor, Emmanuel Garcion, Bathabile Ramalapa, Nela Buchtova, Clement Toullec, Marique Aucamp, Jean Le Bideau, François Hindré, Admire Dube, Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo, Moreno Galleni, Christine Jérôme, Frank Boury
Proteins first emerged as a major class of pharmaceuticals in the 1980s, with a majority of them mainly developed for therapeutics and a small number for diagnostics and vaccines (Walsh, 2006). More than three decades later, a better understanding of the molecular biology and biochemistry behind these macromolecules and their role in various body functions and pathological conditions has led to the realization of enormous therapeutic applications for proteins (Muheem et al., 2014). Advances in the development of protein therapeutics have demonstrated that these molecules offer several advantages over the more conventional small-molecule drugs (Fig. 11.1).
What Are Polymeric Carriers?
Published in Mesut Karahan, Synthetic Peptide Vaccine Models, 2021
Gülderen Karakuş, Dolunay Şakar Daşdan
A large number of monomers connected to each other by covalent bonds of molecules are composed of many repeating subunits to form polymer molecule. A polymer is a macromolecule composed of many monomer units or segments. The conversion of ethylene into polyethylene, the most common plastic in the world found in items ranging from shopping bags to storage containers; polymerization is shown in (Figure 6.1).
Application of plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles in drug delivery
Published in Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, 2023
Mohadeseh Barzin, Amir Mohammad Bagheri, Mandana Ohadi, Amir Masoud Abhaji, Soodeh Salarpour, Gholamreza Dehghannoudeh
Lipids are hydrophobic macromolecules soluble in nonpolar solvents that act as energy-storing sources and membrane structural components in cells (Casares et al. 2019; Olzmann and Carvalho 2019). Studies revealed that PELNs has a high concentration of phospholipids; however, mammalian-derived exosomes have high levels of cholesterol and sphingomyelin (Zhang et al. 2016; Nemati et al. 2022). In addition, the lipidic content of each spice differs from the others (Zhang et al. 2016). Somehow, the significant lipids of exosomes in garlic and grapefruit belong to the phosphatidylcholines family; on the other hand, the many turmeric lipids and ginger exosomes are classified as phosphatidic acids (Zhang et al. 2016; Teng et al. 2018; Suharta et al. 2021). PELNs performance and cell abortion capacity are both affected by lipidic composition and hydrophobic structural assembling (Karamanidou and Tsouknidas 2021). Further, the differences in lipidic content affect the targets of each particle (Teng et al. 2018; Teng et al. 2021). For example, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidic acid are essential for the uptake of nanoparticles by Ruminococcaceae members in the guts (Teng et al. 2018). On the other hand, the depletion of phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylcholine in ginger and grapefruit-derived exosomes significantly hinders their uptake by Ruminococcaceae based on research (Teng et al. 2018; Suharta et al. 2021).
Microencapsulation of β-carotene using barley residue proteins from beer waste as coating material
Published in Journal of Microencapsulation, 2023
Ana Cristina Freitas De Oliveira Meira, Larissa Carolina De Morais, Jayne De Abreu Figueiredo, Lizzy Ayra Alcântara Veríssimo, Diego Alvarenga Botrel, Jaime Vilela De Resende
Protein extraction from barley residue (BRP) was performed by subjecting the wet barley residue (64.47 ± 1.10% moisture content) to an alkaline extraction followed by isoelectric precipitation of the proteins, reaching a yield and protein content of 86.06 ± 5.86% and 20.41 ± 0.82%, respectively. Houde et al. (2018), when using this extraction method in defatted barley flour, obtained lower yield (51.4%) but higher protein content (68.9%). The discrepancies between the studies may be attributed to the difference between raw materials, since the barley residue is germinated barley grains that went through a mashing process. In this unit operation, enzymes act by promoting the degradation of starch into fermentable sugars and the hydrolysis of malt proteins by endoproteases (Yu et al.2020). Thus, the greater the removal of starch, the greater protein recovery yields are achieved (Houde et al.2018). On the other hand, protein hydrolysis contributes to the enrichment of the wort with proteins, reducing the content of this macromolecule in the residue.
Multi-fractal modeling of curcumin release mechanism from polymeric nanomicelles
Published in Drug Delivery, 2022
Camelia E. Iurciuc (Tincu), Marcel Popa, Leonard I. Atanase, Ovidiu Popa, Lacramioara Ochiuz, Paraschiva Postolache, Vlad Ghizdovat, Stefan A. Irimiciuc, Maricel Agop, Constantin Volovat, Simona Volovat
The intense research of the last four decades has allowed the development of extremely diverse polymer-drug systems, classified according to several criteria. One of them takes into account the release mechanism and kinetics of the active principle contained. We can thus distinguish three important categories, each of them being divided into other subcategories: (i) diffusion-controlled systems; (ii) erosion-controlled systems; (iii) osmosis-controlled systems. To these three main types, polymer systems are added to which the release of the active ingredient is controlled by ion exchange, or polymer-drug conjugates to which the release of the active ingredient is determined by the kinetics of the hydrolysis of chemical bonds between it and the macromolecular support (Shaik et al., 2012; Vilos & Velasquez, 2012).