Title:Engineering Virus-like Particles for Antigen and Drug Delivery
Volume: 19
Issue: 1
Author(s): Brett D. Hill, Andrew Zak, Eshita Khera and Fei Wen*
Affiliation:
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Rd., NCRC B028- G058W, Ann Arbor, MI 48109,United States
Keywords:
Virus-like particles, drug delivery, vaccines, epitope, immunity, protein engineering, chemistry, nanoparticles.
Abstract: Virus-like particles (VLPs) are nanoscale biological structures consisting of viral proteins
assembled in a morphology that mimic the native virion but do not contain the viral genetic material.
The possibility of chemically and genetically modifying the proteins contained within VLPs makes them
an attractive system for numerous applications. As viruses are potent immune activators as well as natural
delivery vehicles of genetic materials to their host cells, VLPs are especially well suited for antigen
and drug delivery applications. Despite the great potential, very few VLP designs have made it through
clinical trials. In this review, we will discuss the challenges of developing VLPs for antigen and drug
delivery, strategies being explored to address these challenges, and the genetic and chemical approaches
available for VLP engineering.
