PEG-PLGA from PolySciTech used to develop nanoparticles for broad-acting antiviral vaccine

 

Eliciting an immune response suitable enough for a vaccine to be effective typically requires the use of adjuvants. These compounds are not the antibody target, directly, but act to increase the action of the immune system against the antibody targets they are packaged with. Researchers at University of Texas Austin, Indiana University School of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Virgina Polytechnic Institute, used mPEG-PLGA (Cat# AK010) available from PolySciTech Division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) to create TLR7 loaded nanoparticles to work as adjuvants increasing vaccine efficacy. This research holds promise to develop potent vaccines against a wide array of viral diseases. Read more: Huang, Sijin, Kanella M. Cohen, Liqiang Chen, Xiaowo Kang, Chang Liu, Megan E. Demouth, Wenxia Jiang et al. "Nanoparticle Adjuvant Design Enhances Germinal Center Responses Targeting Conserved Subdominant Epitopes for Pan‐Coronavirus Vaccine Development." Advanced Science (2025): e12100. https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/advs.202512100

“Current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines primarily elicit antibodies targeting the variable receptor-binding domain in the S1 subunit of the spike protein, resulting in limited cross-reactivity and short-lived immunity against emerging variants. The conserved S2 subunit presents a promising vaccine target for broad and durable protection, but the immunodominance in vaccine-induced germinal center (GC) responses hinders effective antibody generation against S2. Here, a polymeric toll-like receptor 7 agonist nanoparticle (TLR7-NP) adjuvant is reported, well designed to enhance lymph node targeting and more efficiently activate S2-specific B cells. When combined with Alum-adsorbed SARS-CoV-2 HexaPro spike protein, TLR7-NP promotes early GC recruitment of S2-specific B cells and overcomes the immunodominance, leading to early and robust S2-specific antibody responses. Compared to conventional TLR7-Alum adjuvanted subunit vaccine and clinically used SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine, TLR7-NP adjuvant induces stronger humoral immune responses across sarbecoviruses and betacoronaviruses and promotes long-lived plasma cell and memory B cell formation. These findings present a direct B cell-activating adjuvant approach for effective pan-coronavirus vaccine development.”

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Purasorb(R) PLGA purchased from PolySciTech used in development of microfluidic nanoparticles for delivery of siRNA

 

Silencing RNA (siRNA) is a powerful tool which can inhibit the expression of select genes by binding to the respective counter-coded messenger RNA and preventing its transcription. It is, however, limited by its susceptibility to degradation by endogenous enzymes requiring a delivery system to transport it to the cell. Researchers at University of Napoli, University of Campania, University of Milano (Italy) used Purasorb (R) PLGA (Cat# CB001) available from PolySciTech Division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) as a distributed product from Corbion to develop a microfluidic system for delivery of siRNA. This research holds promise to provide for improved therapies in the future. Read more: Villano, Ersilia, Teresa Silvestri, Susy Brusco, Erika Esposito, Chiara Infolfi, Thomas L. Moore, Emma Mitidieri et al. "Emulsion-Solvent diffusion in a double-chip microfluidic platform for scalable production of Lipid@ PLGA nanoparticles delivering siRNA therapeutics." International Journal of Pharmaceutics (2025): 126440. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517325012773

“Abstract: Scalable nanoparticle manufacturing remains a key bottleneck in the clinical translation of RNA-based nanomedicines. In this study, we demonstrate the successful adaptation of a conventional emulsion–solvent diffusion protocol into an automated microfluidic workflow, illustrating its potential for streamlined and scalable nanoparticle production. Using the Sunshine™ microfluidic platform (Unchained Labs), we systematically optimized formulation and process parameters to produce siRNA-loaded hybrid lipid–polymer nanoparticles, featuring a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) core and a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine shell (mDPPC@PLGA hNPs). Optimised mDPPC@PLGA hNPs exhibited key technological features, matching or exceeding the quality of their benchtop equivalents (bDPPC@PLGA hNPs). Using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a stabilizer, monodisperse mDPPC@PLGA hNPs with controlled size (<170 nm) and consistent zeta potential (–30 mV) were achieved with production yields ≥ 40 %. The ability of mDPPC@PLGA hNPs to effectively entrap and slowly release a siRNA targeting nuclear factor NF-κB (siNFκB) was successfully demonstrated. Structural characterization through thermodynamic and SAXS analyses confirmed that the microfluidic produced hNPs retained comparable internal architecture to their benchtop counterparts. Most notably, siNFκB-loaded mDPPC@PLGA hNPs resulted in effective in vitro downregulation of NFκB in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated A549 lung epithelial cells. Collectively, these results establish a novel and robust approach for the scalable fabrication of functional, siRNA-loaded hybrid nanoparticles via emulsion–solvent diffusion, leveraging a commercially available, automated microfluidic system with a serial chip configuration. Schematic representation of the adaptation of the bench-top emulsion–solvent diffusion protocol to a microfluidic automated nanoparticle synthesis system with a double-chip in series configuration for the preparation of siRNA-loaded lipid@PLGA hNPs.”

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PLGA from PolySciTech : Akina used in development of discoidal particles for treatment of blood-clots

 

Blood clots can form in vessels leading to thromboembolism which is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Researchers at Yonsei University, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and Korea University used PLGA (Cat# AP082) from PolySciTech Division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) to develop disc-shaped particles loaded with Fucoidan drug to prevent clotting. This research holds promise to provide for treatment of blood-clotting related diseases. Read more: Choi, Wonseok, Hyeyoun Cho, Hwijin Jang, Hyewon Park, Inchan Youn, Sungmin Han, and Jaehong Key. "A Dual-Targeted Therapy with Fucoidan-Functionalized Thrombolytic Discoidal Microparticles for Pulmonary Thromboembolism." Drug Design, Development and Therapy (2025): 10281-10297. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2147/DDDT.S527596

“Pulmonary thromboembolism, a pathological condition characterized by the occlusion of pulmonary vasculature by free-circulating thrombus, constitutes the third leading cause of cardiovascular-related mortality. Among conventional therapeutic approaches to manage the disease, systemic intravenous thrombolysis is hindered by inherent pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic limitations, including a short biological half-life, high requisite dosages, and an increased risk of hemorrhagic transformation. Given the critical need for prompt pulmonary reperfusion, this study introduces a dual-targeted therapeutic strategy employing fucoidan-functionalized, thrombolytic discoidal polymeric microparticles. This dual-targeted approach leverages the physicochemical properties of disc-shaped particles, which exhibit shape-dependent accumulation in the lungs, together with the biological binding affinity provided by the marine-derived component, fucoidan. A top-down lithographic fabrication technique was employed to synthesize discoidal microparticle systems for physicochemical targeting to the pulmonary vasculature, providing precise control over the system’s geometry and uniform drug encapsulation efficiency. Furthermore, a PLGA polymeric matrix was positively modified to incorporate fucoidan onto its matrix surface, which is a sulfated polysaccharide with high-affinity interactions for P-selectin expressed on activated platelets in the nanomolar range. In vitro and in vivo thrombolysis assays were conducted to assess the therapeutic efficacy of microparticles. The proposed discoidal systems coupled with the fucoidan showed rapid accumulation due to their shape and selective interaction with activated platelets. Approximately 50% of the injected microparticles exhibited preferential accumulation within 15 minutes post-injection, and a significant portion remained over assay times. The fucoidan functionalization enhanced the targeting potential, yielding a 4.65- and 1.48-fold increase under static and dynamic flow assays, respectively (all p<0.01). Although dramatic dissolution was not achieved using the proposed system in comparison with rtPA, alongside in vitro and in vivo investigations, the systems exhibited a more prolonged and dose-dependent lytic potential. The proposed systems may offer an alternative to conventional systemic thrombolysis coupled with adjunctive pharmacological interventions.”

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Fluorescent PLGA-Cyanine-5 from PolySciTech:Akina used in research on nanoparticle transportation in body.

 

Nanoparticles have the potential to carry many different types of drugs for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases however their behavior and localization after transport is not fully understood. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania and University of Deleware, used PLGA-CY5 (Cat# AV034) from PolySciTech Division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) to develop a fluorescently labelled nanoparticle system for tracking transport of the particles in relation to cells and the body. This research holds promise to improve the use of nanoparticle drug delivery systems in the future. Read more: Sterin, Eric H., George C. Kramarenko, Chitran Roy Chowdhury, Sriram Pramod Tendulkar, Kejian Li, Timothy Chaya, Jenna Muscat-Rivera, Jilian R. Melamed, and Emily S. Day. "Exogenous CD55 Expression on Membrane-Wrapped Nanoparticles Unexpectedly Increases Spleen Tropism and Immune Cell Uptake In Vivo." ACS Nano Medicine (2025). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnanomed.5c00059

“Intravenously delivered nanoparticle (NP) therapies have the potential to cure a variety of diseases; however, their clinical use has been stunted by undesirable levels of immune cell clearance. This clearance is attributed to protein adsorption onto the outside of the NPs, leading to recognition by immune cells and subsequent accumulation in the liver and spleen. Membrane-wrapped nanoparticles (MWNPs) offer a potential solution to reducing immune clearance by incorporating immune evasion/marker-of-self-proteins, although they too exhibit protein corona-mediated clearance. While various opsonin proteins can bind to MWNPs, complement proteins are particularly problematic as they play a crucial role in innate immunity, triggering immune cell recognition and clearance and causing inflammation. We hypothesized that introducing a complement regulatory protein into the membranes of MWNPs could minimize complement-mediated clearance, but the opposite effect was observed experimentally. In this study, before membrane collection, source cells were genetically modified to express the complement regulatory protein, CD55, which inhibits C3 convertases, key enzymes in the complement cascade. We confirmed that the active protein was transferred onto MWNPs and determined that CD55-modified MWNPs incubated in mouse serum significantly reduced C3 convertase concentration by 33% compared to unmodified MWNPs. Unexpectedly, in vivo analysis of biodistribution and immune cell uptake showed that CD55-modified MWNPs exhibited 2.1× higher spleen accumulation and elevated immune cell uptake in blood and spleen, specifically in monocyte/macrophage populations, as compared to unmodified MWNPs. This may be due to nonprotein corona-mediated mechanisms, such as the secondary role of CD55 as a ligand for CD97 (expressed in monocytes, macrophages, and other immune cells). Supporting this theory, studies examining ex vivo MWNP binding to spleen cells pretreated with IgG or CD97 antibodies showed that CD55-modified MWNPs had 18% lower binding after CD97 blockade, whereas unmodified MWNP binding was not reduced by CD97 blockade. These findings highlight the importance of considering both serum protein interactions and ligand/receptor interactions when designing genetically engineered MWNPs that overexpress a protein of interest, as well as the importance of testing modified MWNPs in both ex vivo and in vivo settings. In the future, the CD55 modification described here could be utilized to promote spleen tropism of MWNPs when desired. More broadly, this work demonstrates the ability to tune MWNP cellular interactions and biodistribution through genetic engineering of source cells─a technique that can be adapted for a plethora of uses in precision medicine.”

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Akina PolySciTech and Corbion Biomaterials Expand Distribution Agreement to Broaden Access to PURASORB® Resorbable Polymers

 Press Release

Akina PolySciTech and Corbion Biomaterials Expand Distribution Agreement to Broaden Access to PURASORB® Resorbable Polymers

West Lafayette, IN, USA, and Gorinchem, The Netherlands — 11/18/2025 –

Akina Inc., through its PolySciTech division, and Corbion Biomaterials today announced an expansion of their distribution agreement to cover Corbion’s complete off-the-shelf PURASORB® portfolio. This agreement reflects both companies’ commitment to advancing innovation in drug delivery and other medical applications.

The PURASORB® portfolio comprises resorbable polymers based on lactide, glycolide, and caprolactone, manufactured under GMP conditions. With decades of proven clinical performance, PURASORB® polymers are trusted worldwide by leading biopharmaceutical companies, generic medicine producers, and medical device manufacturers for their safety, quality, and consistency in drug delivery systems and medical devices. PURASORB® polymers support a broad range of long‑acting medicines and next‑generation medical devices.

By enabling researchers to initiate projects with GMP-equivalent polymers, the partnership ensures continuity from discovery through scale-up, reducing development risks and safeguarding product performance during critical transitions.

Through PolySciTech’s e-commerce platform, academic and industry scientists can order PURASORB® polymers in the quantities they need, with flexible purchasing options including credit card payment. This approach shortens delivery times and simplifies procurement, allowing researchers to focus on advancing their science rather than managing sourcing hurdles.

Researchers utilizing innovative research-grade polymers developed by PolySciTech also benefit from the partnership, with Corbion’s proven process for scaling up to GMP production bridging the gap to clinical use.

“This agreement expands the current Purasorb product offering currently carried by Akina, Inc. to include the entire standard catalog. For researchers, this means easy access to development grade materials currently produced in large-scale GMP format offered with the additional support of Akina, Inc’s comprehensive physicochemical characterization data. With little more than three clicks and a credit card, researchers can obtain gram-scale quantities of Purasorb polymers within as little as 1 business day.  This will enable translational research to generate and test drug-delivery or biomedical device prototypes utilizing the exact same materials as available for the finished clinic-ready products” said John Garner, (Akina, Inc. General Manager).

“Corbion is committed to supporting our partners’ success with GMP-grade resorbable polymers produced to the highest standards of quality and consistency,” said Julien Bérard, Global Head of Business Biomaterials at Corbion. “Extending our collaboration with PolySciTech ensures that innovators worldwide can access PURASORB® polymers at the earliest stages of development, laying the foundation for faster, more predictable advancement into clinical application.”

About PolySciTech (Akina, Inc.) PolySciTech, a division of Akina, Inc., is a leading global provider of research-grade biodegradable polymers, reagents, and related services for biomedical research. Headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana, PolySciTech supports academic institutions and industry innovators in advancing drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. For more information, visit www.akinainc.com.

About Corbion Biomaterials Corbion Biomaterials is a global leader in resorbable polymers for medical and pharmaceutical applications. With decades of expertise in lactic acid and lactide chemistry, Corbion Biomaterials develops and manufactures its PURASORB® polymers under GMP conditions, providing trusted solutions for a wide range of partners worldwide advancing long acting drug delivery systems and medical devices. For more information, visit www.corbion.com.

 

Akina Media Contact: John Garner, General Manager, Akina: PolySciTech, jg@akinainc.com 765-464-0501

 

Corbion Media Contact: Lucas Wiarda, Marketing Director, lucas.wiarda@corbion.com ,+31 (0) 610334360

PLGA from PolySciTech used in development of timed release patch for treatment of heart disease

 

Myocardial infarction (MI) remains one of the most pressing global health problems, leaving millions of patients with long-term cardiac dysfunction despite advances in acute surgical care. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology used multiple PLGAs from PolySciTech Division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) to develop a drug delivery system to release drugs into the heart tissue in a timed sequence. This research holds promise to improve treatment of heart disease. Read more: Erika Yan Wang, Elizabeth A. Calle, Binbin Ying, Behnaz Eshaghi, Linzixuan Zhang, Xin Yang, Stacey Qiaohui Lin, Jooli Han, Alanna G. Backx, Yuting Huang, Sevinj Mursalova, Chuhan Joyce Qi, Yi Liu, Robert Langer, Ana Jaklenec "TIMED: Temporal intervention with microparticle encapsulation and delivery—A programmed release system for post-myocardial infarction therapy." Cell Biomaterials (2025). https://www.cell.com/cell-biomaterials/abstract/S3050-5623(25)00240-5

“Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major global health challenge. Surgical interventions address the acute phase but often fail to support long-term recovery. Sequential post-operative drug delivery offers promise but is constrained by release methods. Here, we developed TIMED (temporal intervention with microparticle encapsulation and delivery), a polymeric device enabling programmed sequential release through spatially patterned microparticles in a tough hydrogel matrix. TIMED demonstrated excellent mechanical performance and biocompatibility for long-term implantation and retained strong stability after storage. A sequential dosing regimen aligned with the innate post-MI response was first validated in hiPSC-derived cardiac tissues, where it enhanced cell viability and vascularization while reducing collagen deposition. In vivo, delivery via the TIMED improved survival, reduced injury markers and infarct size, and enhanced cardiac output, outperforming equivalent i.v. dosing. This work establishes a first-of-its-kind cardiac implantable polymeric platform with modular sequential release and provides a framework for programmed multi-dosing across diverse applications.”

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mPEG-PLGA from Akina utilized in research on nanoparticle-protein interactions

 

When nanoparticle drug delivery system enters the body it gathers a cluster of proteins which naturally cluster around its surface forming a protein corona. Researchers at University of Napoli Federico II used mPEG-PLGA (Cat# AK090) from PolySciTech Division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) to investigate the interactions between proteins and nanoparticles. This research helps elucidate the behavior of nanoparticle delivery systems. Read more: Spinelli, Lucio, Pasquale D’Anna, Elva Morretta, Chiara Cassiano, Virgilio Piccolo, Martina De Rosa, Rebecca Amico et al. "PEGylation-Driven Remodeling of the Protein Corona on PLGA Nanoparticles: Implications for Macrophage Recognition." Biomacromolecules (2025). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.biomac.5c01369

“The formation of a Protein Corona (PC) on the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) is a critical event that shapes their biological identity and governs interactions with the immune system. In this study, we investigated the composition of the PC formed on mixtures of PLGA and PEG–PLGA NPs, aiming to elucidate the link between NPsurface chemistry, proteomic fingerprint in cell culture medium, and uptake by bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). NPs showed different sizes but comparable actual PEG amount exposed on the surface, which is significantly lower than the theoretical values. The PC, isolated using a standardized microfiltration protocol, revealed distinct patterns of protein adsorption as a function of the PEG density. Uptake studies in BMDMs revealed a strong inverse relationship between PEG surface density, PC composition, and macrophage internalization, supporting the hypothesis that the opsonin/dysopsonin balance is more critical than a single protein interaction. In conclusion, this work demonstrates that the PEG surface density is not the only determinant of PC composition. These findings underscore the importance of rigorous surface characterization and PC profiling to predict and tune nanocarrier performance in vivo.”

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