Is There an Optimal Formulation and Delivery Strategy for Subunit Vaccines?

Modern vaccine design has moved away from attenuated or inactivated whole-pathogen vaccines to more pure and defined subunit vaccines. However subunit antigens have poor bioavailability and stability and lack immunogenicity. To overcome these issues subunit vaccines have to be administered in a suitable delivery system in combination with immune stimulants. Many different delivery systems have been developed and investigated each having different modes of action, for example increasing delivery and/or sustaining delivery of antigen to immune cells. In addition a number of different routes of immunization are possible and these can play a crucial role in determining the fate of an immune response. In this review the different strategies for the delivery of prophylactic and therapeutic subunit vaccines along with the impact of these on the immune responses generated are discussed.