Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
10.0
5.5
Journals
Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
Advances in Vaccine Delivery and Vaccine Administration
share announcement

Advances in Vaccine Delivery and Vaccine Administration

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 488

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Martin J. D'Souza

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mercer University, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA
Interests: vaccine development; nanoparticles; infectious diseases; novel drug delivery methods; immunology; kinetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sharon Vijayanand

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Mercer University, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA
Interests: therapeutic product immunogenicity; immunogenicity; vaccines; infectious diseases; drug delivery systems; immunology; antigen–antibody interactions; kinetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vaccination is crucial for preventing infections by providing protection against invading pathogens. Recent advancements in vaccine delivery systems, such as lipid nanoparticles and polymeric nanoparticles, have enabled the efficient delivery of mRNA and vaccine antigens, resulting in enhanced vaccine efficacy. It is vital to develop vaccines that can trigger a strong immune response, characterized by both humoral and cell-mediated immunity, long-lasting protection, and immune memory. Vaccine delivery systems not only protect the vaccine cargo but also improve the delivery of vaccine antigens to target cells, thus enhancing vaccine-induced immunity. However, further research is needed to fully utilize these delivery systems for all types of vaccine antigens. Moreover, there is a need for improved vaccine administration systems that are more patient-friendly and cost-effective. Developments in vaccine administration strategies, such as microneedle vaccination, oral vaccination, and intranasal vaccination, have made them more patient-friendly, but the production of such vaccines remains challenging.

This Special Issue will spotlight recent advancements in vaccine delivery methods and innovative vaccine administration systems, providing readers with the most up-to-date research findings in the field of vaccine development.

Prof. Dr. Martin J. D'Souza
Dr. Sharon Vijayanand
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • vaccine delivery
  • vaccination
  • vaccine immunity
  • humoral immune response
  • cell-mediated immunity
  • infectious diseases
  • vaccine administration
  • novel routes of vaccination
  • nanoparticles

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

25 pages, 1758 KiB  
Review
Leaf Saponins of Quillaja brasiliensis as Powerful Vaccine Adjuvants
by Víctor Morais, Norma Suarez, Samuel Cibulski and Fernando Silveira
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(8), 966; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17080966 - 25 Jul 2025
Viewed by 302
Abstract
Vaccine adjuvants are non-immunogenic agents that enhance or modulate immune responses to co-administered antigens and are essential to modern vaccines. Despite their importance, few are approved for human use. The rise of new pathogens and limited efficacy of some existing vaccines underscore the [...] Read more.
Vaccine adjuvants are non-immunogenic agents that enhance or modulate immune responses to co-administered antigens and are essential to modern vaccines. Despite their importance, few are approved for human use. The rise of new pathogens and limited efficacy of some existing vaccines underscore the need for more advanced and effective formulations, particularly for vulnerable populations. Aluminum-based adjuvants are commonly used in vaccines and effectively promote humoral immunity. However, they mainly induce a Th2-biased response, making them suboptimal for diseases requiring cell-mediated immunity. In contrast, saponin-based adjuvants from the Quillajaceae family elicit a more balanced Th1/Th2 response and generate antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTL). Due to ecological damage and limited availability caused by overharvesting Quillaja saponaria Molina barks, efforts have intensified to identify alternative plant-derived saponins with enhanced efficacy and lower toxicity. Quillaja brasiliensis (A.St.-Hil. and Tul.) Mart. (syn. Quillaja lancifolia D.Don), a related species native to South America, is considered a promising renewable source of Quillajaceae saponins. In this review, we highlight recent advances in vaccine adjuvant research, with a particular focus on saponins extracted from Q. brasiliensis leaves as a sustainable alternative to Q. saponaria saponins. These saponin fractions are structurally and functionally comparable, exhibiting similar adjuvant activity when they were formulated with different viral antigens. An alternative application involves formulating saponins into nanoparticles known as ISCOMs (immune-stimulating complexes) or ISCOM-matrices. These formulations significantly reduce hemolytic activity while preserving strong immunoadjuvant properties. Therefore, research advances using saponin-based adjuvants (SBA) derived from Q. brasiliensis and their incorporation into new vaccine platforms may represent a viable and sustainable solution for the development of more less reactogenic, safer, and effective vaccines, especially for diseases that require a robust cellular immunity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Vaccine Delivery and Vaccine Administration)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-1
Back to TopTop