CELLULOSE NANOMATERIALS: A NOVEL ADJUVANT AND DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR AQUATIC VACCINES

The long-term goal of this interdisciplinary project is to develop a new generation of efficacious, safe, and cost effective vaccines for sustainable US farmed fish aquaculture using a novel vaccine delivery platform of renewable cellulose nanomaterial. We will examine cellulose nanomaterials(CNM) as novel adjuvants/depots formulated with Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISAv) and Vibrio ordalii, antigens for improved vaccines in farmed Altlantic salmon, a high value farmed fish species. Specifically we will establish the role of (stationary) CNM as a vaccine depot and mobile immunostimulant, the extent and location of CNM migration in vivo, and the efficacy of CNM bound antigen as a mobile immunostimulant for protection against two serious Atlantic salmon pathogens.To accomplish this, our interdisciplinary research team will execute three interrelated objectives:1) prepare and conduct in vitro characterization of CNM hydrogels and CNM/antigen (vaccine) formulations,2) Conduct in vivo studies to quantify the antibody kinetics in vaccinated fish serum, and3) Evaluate the efficacy of the CNM vaccine(s) in protecting against Vibrio ordalii in Atlantic salmon.