Introduction to AS01-like Adjuvants in Modern Vaccine Development Developing vaccines that generate strong, durable, and well-balanced immune responses remains a major challenge, particularly for diseases that require more than antibody-mediated protection. Recombinant protein vaccines, for example, may not stimulate sufficient innate immune activation or robust cellular immunity when administered alone. Adjuvants help overcome this limitation by enhancing immune recognition of vaccine antigens and shaping subsequent adaptive responses. AS01 is a well-characterized liposome-based adjuvant system that combines monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) and the saponin QS-21. By integrating complementary immunostimulatory components into a lipid-based formulation, AS01 provides a valuable model for understanding how adjuvant design can improve vaccine immunogenicity and support the…

Bioadhesives are a rapidly evolving class of materials designed to bond with biological tissues in a safe and effective way. Unlike conventional adhesives, which are typically optimized for dry and rigid surfaces, bioadhesives are engineered to function in complex biological environments—where moisture, movement, and biochemical interactions are constant. This unique capability has made them increasingly important across modern medicine, drug delivery, and advanced material science. Understanding the Concept of Bioadhesion At a fundamental level, a bioadhesive is a natural or synthetic polymer that can adhere to a biological surface such as skin, mucosa, or internal tissue. What distinguishes these materials is not just their adhesive strength, but their ability to…

The concept of proteolytic targeting chimera (PROTAC) was first proposed by Crews and Deshaies laboratory in 2001, the team successfully achieved the degradation of methionyl aminopeptidase 2 (MetAp-2) by PROTAC method. Since then, PROTACs targeting androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) have appeared one after another. In 2004, a PROTAC molecule that recruited the tumor suppressor protein VHL through a polypeptide fragment on HIF1-α showed a greater improvement in membrane permeability and could also exist stably in cells. However, these peptide-based PROTAC molecules were not ready for drug preparation. Until 2008, when the first small-molecule E3 ubiquitinase ligand-based PROTAC came out, marking the beginning of small-molecule PROTAC research, and…