Silica-coated papillomavirus-based nanoparticles: a shielded scaffold for HIV-1 vaccines

Wang Y, Kostka-Wirtz K, Bartelsen N, Loza K, Weingärtner C, Arnold P, Damm D, Überla K, Epple M, Temchura V (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Biomaterials Science Royal Society of Chemistry

DOI: 10.1039/d5bm01792k

Abstract

The development of a safe, effective, and accessible human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) vaccine remains a global priority, and nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a promising platform for vaccine delivery. However, the efficacy of protein-based NP vaccines is often limited by pre-existing immunity against scaffold components. In this study, we developed a novel HIV-1 vaccine platform by converting self-assembling human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 virus-like particles (VLPs) into immune-stealth biomaterials for focused antigen delivery. Encapsulation of VLPs within a silica shell provided both immune shielding and a surface for site-specific antigen conjugation. The resulting L1-SiO2 NPs were covalently functionalized with HIV-1 Env trimers (L1-SiO2-Env) and characterized for their physicochemical properties and immunogenicity. In vivo, the silica coating effectively masked L1-specific B cell epitopes, reduced anti-scaffold IgG responses and enhanced Env-specific antibody production in mice pre-immunized against HPV. This synthetic strategy offers a versatile platform for overcoming scaffold-directed immunity in nanoparticle vaccines.

Authors with CRIS profile

Yu Wang Lehrstuhl für Klinische und Molekulare Virologie Nils Bartelsen Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology Christoph Weingärtner Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology Philipp Arnold Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle und Klinische Anatomie Dominik Damm Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology Klaus Überla Lehrstuhl für Klinische und Molekulare Virologie Vladimir Temchura Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology

Involved external institutions

Universität Duisburg-Essen (UDE) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Wang, Y., Kostka-Wirtz, K., Bartelsen, N., Loza, K., Weingärtner, C., Arnold, P.,... Temchura, V. (2026). Silica-coated papillomavirus-based nanoparticles: a shielded scaffold for HIV-1 vaccines. Biomaterials Science. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5bm01792k

MLA:

Wang, Yu, et al. "Silica-coated papillomavirus-based nanoparticles: a shielded scaffold for HIV-1 vaccines." Biomaterials Science (2026).

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