The phenomenal advancements in biotechnology have opened up endless possibilities for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Responding to the increasing need for efficient and effective solutions, VLPlant™ – an innovative platform that revolutionizes viral vaccine development, is introduced.
Virus-like particles (VLPs) are self-assembled from viral antigens and do not have a viral genome. VLP vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses VLPs to stimulate an immune response without causing the disease itself. Currently, platforms used for VLP construction include bacteria, yeast, insects, mammalian cell lines, and plants. Each platform has its unique advantages and limitations, and the choice of platform depends on the structure and function of the VLP being produced. Plants can be grown on a large scale in greenhouses or bioreactors, have low production costs, low risk of introducing foreign human pathogens, and can undergo post-translational modifications.
VLPlant™ offers significant advantages in viral vaccine development by providing a cost-effective, scalable, and flexible platform. To be more specific, VLPlant™ is designed to synthesize viral vectors in plant-based recombinant expression systems according to target genes of interest. This fusion created a novel platform that offers unmatched potential and versatility for a diverse range of applications. By utilizing technologies such as A. thaliana-based VLP production, chemical conjugation-based VLP modification, and biophysical methods-based VLP characterization, the VLPlant™ is able to construct VLPs from plant platforms to aid in the development of vaccines based on VLPs.
From HCV VLP vaccine development to influenza virus VLP vaccine development, VLPlant™ is committed to contributing to developing high-yield, cost-effective, and easily scalable viral vaccines. Moreover, VLP vaccine from VLPlant™ exhibits exceptional stability and safety characteristics. The viral vectors applied in VLPlant™ are specifically engineered to minimize the possibility of unintended replication or spread, ensuring the highest standards of biocontainment. This feature provides an added layer of assurance for both the developers and regulatory bodies involved in vaccine production.
In addition to vaccine development, the VLPlant™ platform can also construct VLPs as a positive control for virus detection and can also be used as a coating antigen to develop ELISA for virus infection diagnosis. Furthermore, it can support drug delivery systems to deliver drugs, proteins/peptides, nucleic acids, and other substances for disease treatment.
What is VLPlant™
VLPlant™ can synthesize expression vectors according to target genes provided by customers, and of course, it can screen target genes for researchers. The vector containing the gene of interest is transformed into plant cells infiltrated in a transient expression system (mediated by Agrobacterium) to produce VLPs. Once plant growth is complete, scientists harvest the plant cells, isolate and purify the VLPs, and test them for biochemical, biophysical, and biological characterization.