Identification of key parameters in adjuvant efficiency

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Production of vaccine product formulation requires large investments before their commercialization. Successin these endeavours results in investment returns for the companies producing them and large impact onpopulation health and longevity. Most vaccine produced today are targeting more than one virus. Theformulation is complex and involves the addition of adjuvants that are substances that are shown to boost ourresponse to a given vaccine drug. In this context, some vaccines do not display the expected immune response.This maybe linked to the extend of antigens adsorption on the adjuvant, which was shown to be linked to avaccine immunogenicity. In this project we are interested in the characterization of the adjuvant morphologyand surface chemistry and to link this to its ability to adsorbed antigens. This information would allow to assesshow reproducible is the adjuvant surface and to explore ways to tailor its surface chemistry to ensure optimumadjuvant performances. In this work we will use x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman and FTIRspectroscopy, as well as scanning electron microscopy to understand the state of the adjuvant surface underdifferent conditions. Various activation process as well as chemical treatments will be use to modify theadjuvant surface and monitor its adsorption properties toward selected antigens. The ultimate goal is to developa methodology to perform relevant quality control on the produced adjuvant prior to its use in vaccineformulation.