Clay-lipid nanohybrids: towards influenza vaccines and beyond

Abstract

The design of nanostructured materials based on natural components, such as clay minerals, offers new solutions to biomedical challenges such as more efficient and storage-stable vaccines. Clay-lipid hybrid materials have proved useful as adjuvants in influenza vaccines and with a possible projection to leishmaniasis vaccines and other pathogens. Self-assembly of phospholipid molecules on the surface of microfibrous sepiolite and lamellar Mg/Al layered double hydroxide renders a biocompatible lipid bilayer membrane that ensures non-degrading immobilization of proteins and other biological species including viral particles and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Immunization tests in mice showed the superior immunogenicity of a clay-lipid-supported virus compared to a commercial aluminium hydroxide adjuvant.