Chitosan And Trimethyl Chitosan Particles As Oral Vaccine Delivery Systems: Comparison Of The Potential To Initiate Immune Responses

In this study, particles having low MW (Chi-L), high MW (Chi-H) and their respective trimethyl chitosan (TMC) with a degree of quaternization (DQ) of about 40% (TMC-L-40 and TMC-H-40), and prepared by using chitosan, were used to compare their potentials for provoking immune responses to ovalbumin (OVA) following oral administration. The results showed that the Chi-L particles gave higher serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses to OVA than those induced with Chi-H, TMC-L-40 and TMC-H-40 particles. However, Chi-L and Chi-H particles gave similar secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) to OVA, and sIgA titers obtained from mice immunized with OVA-loaded TMC were negligible. This study demonstrated that chitosan particles seem to be better delivery systems for oral vaccination, and the MW of chitosan appeared to have an effect on the ability to elicit immune responses to OVA in BALB/c mice following oral immunization.