Patent ID: 11938177
Assignee: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Field: Pharmaceuticals (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A  B

Claim 0:
1. An immunogenic composition for inducing an immune response to a peptide antigen in a subject, the immunogenic composition comprising polymer nanoparticles, the polymer nanoparticles comprising:
a first polymer linked to a conjugate by an electrostatic interaction, the conjugate comprising the peptide antigen linked to a peptide tag; and
optionally an adjuvant; and, wherein
the electrostatic interaction is between the first polymer and the peptide tag;
the first polymer comprises a net negative charge and the peptide tag comprises a net positive charge at pH 7.4;
the peptide antigen from 8-12 amino acids in length or from 29-35 amino acids in length;
the peptide antigen and the conjugate are soluble in phosphate buffered saline at pH 7.4;
the peptide tag is C-terminal to the peptide antigen in the conjugate;
the peptide tag comprises 5 to 15 amino acids; and
wherein, when present, the adjuvant is a toll-like receptor 7/8 agonist and is linked to the first polymer through an amide bond; and a ratio of the adjuvant to monomer of the first polymer is from 1:100 to 1:10 mol/mol; and
wherein the polymer nanoparticles enter immune cells under physiological conditions to induce the immune response to the peptide antigen in the subject.