Potential of nanocarriers in genetic immunization.

DNA vaccination (or genetic immunization) strategies provide important opportunities for improving immunization, since both humoral and cell-mediated responses are induced. The use of genetic vaccines for inducing immunity to infectious agents can eliminate or significantly alleviate the pathology associated with a broad range of infections. A requirement for efficient DNA vaccination is the development of gene delivery systems capable of overcoming barriers to gene transfection. Compared to viral systems, nonviral systems are considered to be safe, cheap, multiple delivery is possible and able to deliver larger pieces of DNA. Also, these nanocarriers avoid DNA degradation and facilitate targeted delivery to antigen presenting cells. This review describes the potential of non-viral nanocarrier construct(s) in genetic immunization. Issued patents in the field were retrieved from the US patent database. Various carrier systems used to deliver plasmid DNA were reviewed in detail.