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Foam drying, a modified freeze drying process, was utilized to produce a heat-stable, live attenuated Salmonella Typhi 'Ty21a' bacterial vaccine. Ty21a vaccine was formulated with pharmaceutically approved stabilizers, including sugars, plasticizers, amino acids, and proteins. Growth media and harvesting conditions of the bacteria were also studied to enhance resistance to desiccation stress encountered during processing as well as subsequent storage at elevated temperatures. The optimized Ty21a vaccine, formulated with trehalose, methionine, and gelatin, demonstrated stability for approximately 12 weeks at 37°C (i.e., time required for the vaccine to decrease in potency by 1log(10)CFU) and no loss in titer at 4 and 25°C following storage for the same duration. Furthermore, the foam dried Ty21a elicited a similar immunogenic response in mice as well as protection in challenge studies compared to Vivotif™, the commercial Ty21a vaccine. The enhanced heat stability of the Ty21a oral vaccine, or Ty21a derivatives expressing foreign antigens (e.g. anthrax), could mitigate risks of vaccine potency loss during long-term storage, shipping, delivery to geographical areas with warmer climates or during emergency distribution following a bioterrorist attack. Because the foam drying process is conducted using conventional freeze dryers and can be readily implemented at any freeze drying manufacturing facility, this technology appears ready and appropriate for large scale processing of foam dried vaccines., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Development of optimal formulation conditions stabilizing live attenuated bacterial vaccines is impeded by traditional methods used for viability measurement. To facilitate preformulation studies of such vaccines, spectroscopic techniques capable of providing real-time and high throughput information have been employed to obtain a global stability profile for a live attenuated Ty21a bacterial typhoid vaccine over a wide range of pH (4 to 8) and temperature (10 to 85 degrees C). Using the data obtained from fluorescence and circular dichroism techniques, an empirical phase diagram (EPD) has been subsequently constructed, which suggests that Ty21a cells exist in at least four apparent physical phases related to different viability states, with the most stable phase at pH 6 and 7 at temperatures below 30 degrees C. A slightly basic pH (pH 8) appears to decrease the fluidity of the cell membrane, whereas acidic pH conditions are detrimental to membrane integrity over the entire temperature range. Based on the above stability profile, a fluorescence-based high throughput screening assay has been developed to test the stabilizing effects of various compounds at different concentrations. Amongst other promising stabilizers, 10% sucrose and 0.15 M glutamic acid display the greatest protective effects, with an increase of about 10 degrees C in the transition temperature of Ty21a cells. Preliminary studies have also been performed on foam dried formulations as an alternative approach to further stabilize Ty21a cells. The data show that 10% sucrose and trehalose both increase the in-process and storage stabilities of the cells.