| Description |
Active immunization of the body using vaccines has gained an indispensable role in human medicine. Vaccination plays a key role especially in the prophylaxis of various types of infectious diseases, but its use in the treatment of tumors has also become increasingly important. In terms of safety and efficacy, vaccines based on modified viral RNA or DNA (so-called genetic vaccines), encoding protein antigens on the surface of microbial pathogens (viruses or bacteria) or tumor cells responsible for eliciting an immune response, are of great promise to the future. However, a limiting factor for genetic vaccines is the low stability of nucleic acids in the blood and the limited ability to induce a sufficiently strong production of specific immune system components. An elegant solution to these problems is the use of a macromolecular transport system based on synthetic polycation, which forms an electrostatic complex with a nucleic acid protecting it from degradation. In addition, polycation allows the attachment of an immunostimulatory molecule (so-called adjuvant) to its structure, which significantly increases the immune response towards the antigen. The synthesis of cationic homopolymers and diblock copolymers of the methacrylamide type and their ability to complex and stabilize nucleic acids and release them from the complexes depending on the physicochemical and biological conditions of the environment will be studied. The synthesis and conjugation of imidazoquinoline-based adjuvants (Toll-like receptor-7/8 agonists) with polycations will also be addressed. Biological testing of polycationic complexes with therapeutic nucleic acids will be realized in a cooperation with the foreign partner. |
