Technological and biological aspects of polymeric nanocapsules for the design of new nanovaccines

Resumo

The main goals of this thesis have been i) to develop new methods to prepare on-demand nanocapsules, with interest in the vaccination field, and ii) to understand the impact of their design on the interaction with biological systems. Specifically, new nanocapsules with tunable particle size and with one or multiple polymeric layers were engineered. In this regard, the potential of novel chitosan/dextran sulfate bilayer nanocapsules to protect and control the release of the associated antigen was proved. Besides, chitosan and inulin nanocapsules with different particle sizes were developed, and the influence of their size and polymeric shell was evaluated in terms of interaction with immune cells, toxicity, dissemination and lymphatic drainage.