Vesicular Systems for Non-invasive Topical Immunization: Rationale and Prospects

The turn of century has witnessed a huge increase in the number of technologies and immunological approaches for new vaccine design. Vesicular carriers, i.e. liposomes, niosomes, transfersomes represent widely exploited class of novel delivery systems for topical applications. Non-invasive vaccination onto the skin using these novel carriers could improve vaccination programs because the procedure requires no specially trained personnel and may avoid risk associated with needle prick. These delivery systems act as adjuvants to enhance the immunogenicity of antigens, which otherwise induce 'weak' immune response when applied topically.