Characterization of Aluminum Hydroxide Gel and Oil-in-Water Emulsion Formulations Containing CpG ODNs

Oligonucleotide sequences known as CpG ODNs are potent TLR9 agonists. The literature shows that formulation of CpG ODNs elicits more potent immune responses than the formulation or the adjuvant molecule alone. Given the importance of formulation on adjuvant biological activity and toxicity, formulation parameters should be well characterized and rationally designed. An understanding of the biophysical phenomena related to adjuvant interactions with formulation components can be obtained through complementary analytical techniques. Microeletrophoresis, UV spectrophotometry, and HPLC are used to characterize the association of CpG ODNs with aluminum hydroxide and oil-in-water emulsion formulations.