Physicochemical characterization of influenza viral vaccine loaded surfactant vesicles.

The goal of this study was to develop nonionic surfactant vesicles of influenza antigen for nasal mucosal delivery. The study describes the encapsulation of viral influenza vaccine antigen in nonionic surfactant vesicles using dehydration-rehydration technique and investigation of the influence of the varying proportion of surfactant, cholesterol, and dicetyl phosphate on the morphology, particle size, entrapment efficiency, and in vitro antigen release from surfactant vesicles. The stability of the antigen was studied using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. The effect of cholesterol concentration and the method of lyophilization on antigen loading and in vitro release of antigen from surfactant vesicles also were studied.