Polyvinylpyrrolidone–Poly(ethylene glycol) Modified Silver Nanorods Can Be a Safe, Noncarrier Adjuvant for HIV Vaccine

One of the biggest obstacles for the development of HIV vaccines is how to sufficiently trigger crucial anti-HIV immunities via a safe manner. We herein integrated surface modification-dependent immunostimulation against HIV vaccine and shape-dependent biosafety and designed a safe noncarrier adjuvant based on silver nanorods coated by both polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Such silver nanorods can significantly elevate crucial immunities of HIV vaccine and overcome the toxicity, which is a big problem for other existing adjuvants. This study thus provided a principle for designing a safe and high-efficacy material for an adjuvant and allow researchers to really have a safe and effective prophylaxis against HIV. We expect this material approach to be applicable to other types of vaccines, whether they are preventative or therapeutic.