Figure 1.

Cryogel‐based vaccines reinforce DC‐mediated immune responses. A) Quantification of cellular hypoxia of infiltrated cells within cryogels and O₂‐cryogels at 24 and 72 h following post‐subcutaneous injection in mice with Hypoxyprobe‐1. B) Quantitative flow cytometric measurements of CD86^High and CD317^High DCs (CD11c^High) in cryogels or O₂‐cryogels in the presence or absence of CpG ODN 1826 in hypoxia and normoxia for 24 h (right panel). C) Overview of the process for fabrication and evaluation of square‐shaped COVID‐19 cryogel‐based (Cryogel_VAX) and O₂‐cryogel‐based (O₂‐Cryogel_VAX) vaccines. Step 1 involves freezing vaccine components, enabling crosslinking of solutes around ice crystals (step 2). Thawing results in an interconnected macroporous network with vaccine components encapsulated within the polymer network (step 3). Addition of calcium peroxide and catalase to the vaccine components before cryogelation produces O₂‐Cryogel_VAX capable of sustained production of oxygen. In step 4, cryogels are subcutaneously injected into mice for preclinical vaccine studies. D) Illustration describing a model for DC‐enhanced cryogel‐induced immunity. Initiator system: APS and TEMED. Values represent the mean ± SEM (n = 5). Data were analyzed using two‐way ANOVA and Bonferroni post‐tests to evaluate differences between conditions (colored stars indicate statistical significance within a given group of the same color), ***p < 0.001. Mouse carton taken from smart.servier.com.