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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Development and Assessment of Intracellular Infection Models for Staphylococcus aureus
Published on: January 17, 2025
Effect of 2 Emulsion-Based Adjuvants on the Structure and Thermal Stability of Staphylococcus aureus Alpha-Toxin
Yangjie Wei1, Jian Xiong1, Nicholas R Larson1
1Macromolecule and Vaccine Stabilization Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kansas, 2030 Becker Drive, Lawrence, Kansas 66047.
Abstract:
The effects of 2 squalene-based emulsion adjuvant systems (MedImmune emulsion 0 [ME.0] and Stable Emulsion [SE]) on the structure and stability of the recombinant protein antigen alpha-toxin (AT), a potential vaccine candidate for Staphylococcus aureus infection, were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and both steady-state and time-resolved intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy as well as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A component study, performed to identify the effects of the individual emulsion's components, showed negligible interactions between AT and ME.0. DSC analysis showed the ME.0 emulsion thermally destabilized AT, probably because of changes in the buffer composition of AT upon mixing. The SE emulsion caused increased alpha-helix and decreased beta-sheet content in AT, and a significant blue shift in the fluorescence spectra relative to that of AT in solution. DSC analysis showed SE exerted a dramatic thermal stabilization effect on AT, probably attributable to an interaction between AT and SE. Size exclusion chromatography showed a complete loss in the recovery of AT when mixed with SE, but not ME.0, indicating a high degree of interaction with SE. This work successfully characterized the biophysical properties of AT in the presence of 2 emulsion adjuvants including a component study to rationalize how emulsion components affect protein antigen stability.
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