Hepatitis B affects millions of people annually. Everyone is at risk especially small children. Most people in developing countries do not get the chance to get vaccinated because of the expensive cost and the required stable environmental conditions for storing vaccines. Thus, researchers have been trying to develop oral or powdered form of vaccine as these can easily be administered and cheaper than injections. Currently, there have been no successful attempt in creating this hepatitis B vaccine.

A team of physicists from Niels Bohr Institute, University of Sao Paolo, and Butantan Institute has developed a method in creating an optimal oral Hepatitis B vaccine.

"We have used a technology commonly used in solid-state physics to explore how the vaccine behaves within a particular type of encapsulation. This has yielded crucial information that would not otherwise have been achievable. When we scientists venture beyond our comfort zone and deploy each other's knowledge across disciplines, entirely new possibilities can emerge," says Heloisa Bordallo, an associate professor at the Niels Bohr Institute, and one of the two main authors of the research article just published in Scientific Reports.

Oral vaccines are difficult in making since the material needs to be encapsulated to protect it from the harsh environments of the digestive system. It has to reach the target destination in the body. It has been a longtime knowledge for the Brazilian researchers that silica-material SBA-15 is optimized to encapsulate a hepatitis B vaccine. They just do not know the mechanism of this protection. They are also not sure why there are instances when their vaccine is not effective.

The Danish team of physicists was able to provide technical expertise by providing a combined technique of x-ray and neutron imaging. They produced 3D images of the inside of the SBA-15 silica. Researchers were able to visualize how the vaccine behaves inside the scale. Moreover, they were able to visualize that the vaccine might clump inside the silica, they're making it less effective.

"Now we know what makes the vaccine less effective, and how to optimize it. We know exactly how much vaccine should be put in the silica capsule for it to work best in the body and the clinical trials can be better interpreted," explains Heloisa Bordallo.

Martin K. Rasmusses, one of the main authors, said that there is great potential for the vaccine for developing nations.

"Getting rid of needles being poked into the arms of little children is an advantage in and of itself. It also eliminates any need to sterilize needles and possible side effects such as swelling and infection. And, unlike the vaccine in use today, this type of vaccine needn't be refrigerated. As such, costs will be reduced and the vaccine's administration will be eased."

The scientists desire that this 3D technology will permit the development of oral vaccines for other diseases as well.