Patent of the Week: Increased Safety and Improved Protection of Vaccines
Researchers, including Aaron Esser-Kahn, an associate professor at UChicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, have filed a patent application for a novel additive that limits undesirable vaccine-related side effects.
Many vaccines include adjuvants – an ingredient added to boost immune system response – though current options are limited and many produce undesirable side effects, such as injection site swelling.
The method – which decreased inflammation and enhanced immune response – is generalizable across a broad range of adjuvants and antigens.
The researchers anticipate the studies will lead to “a novel approach to vaccine formulation design that may prove general across a wide range of adjuvants, enabling their greater use in the public realm.”
// Read more:
// Patent of the Week is a weekly column highlighting research and inventions from University of Chicago faculty.