Preparation of mannan modified anionic PCL–PEG–PCL nanoparticles at one-step for bFGF antigen delivery to improve humoral immunity

In this article, blank anionic poly(ɛ-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCEC) and anionic mannan modified PCEC (MPCEC) nanoparticles with nearly the same particle size and zeta potential were prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation method. Human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was absorbed onto anionic nanoparticles surface due to electrostatic interaction. The obtained bFGF-nanoparticles complexes were injected subcutaneously into C57BL/6 mice at 20 μg of bFGF/dose on week 0, 1, 2 and 3. The mice serum was collected on week 4, and bFGF-specific autoantibody total IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a titer in serum was determined by ELISA. The results indicated that the autoantibody IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a titer of the mice immunized by bFGF–MPCEC complexes were higher than that immunized by either bFGF–PCEC or bFGF–Alum. This phenomenon might be due to that mannan functionalized MPCEC nanoparticles could be targeted to dendritic cells (DCs) to improve humoral immunity. The prepared anionic mannan modified PCEC nanoparticles (MPCEC) might have great potential application in vaccine delivery systems.