Preparing Adjuvanted Nanoliposomes for Applications Toward Recombinant Influenza Vaccine Development

Nanoparticle vaccines can provide advantages over traditional vaccine methodologies, including adjuvant delivery to enhance the effectiveness of recombinant antigens. Many approaches exist to formulate different vaccine nanoparticles, which are designed for different biomolecular cargos, adjuvant compositions, and disease targets. Here, a protocol is described to produce nanoliposomes whose surface is decorated with recombinant protein influenza antigens with monophosphoryl lipid A and QS-21 adjuvants incorporated into the lipid bilayer for protection against influenza infection. This protocol includes methods for producing adjuvanted liposomes and coupling with His-tagged antigens for surface decoration of the particle. This allows for a rapid methodology of producing immunogenic antigen-presenting liposomes that can be tailored to display a combination of influenza surface antigens. Key features • This protocol uses recombinant proteins, which can be adapted to the desired strain sequence. • Production of this influenza vaccine formulation uses in vitro techniques, eliminating the need for virus growth in eggs. • Additional lipid adjuvants can be included in the liposome production step to be incorporated into the surface membrane. • Cobalt-porphyrin phospholipid provides a flexible platform for binding His-tag-bearing proteins.