The role of the adsorption process for production and control combined adsorbed vaccines

For the production and control of adsorbed vaccines it is necessary to know and respect some basic features of adsorption. Among others these are the surface charges of adsorbents and antigens, the pH of the medium, the buffer components and the maturation process. They are important for the adsorption behaviour and have influence on the stability of the adsorbate and potency of the vaccine. Individually different conditions for optimal adsorption of antigens can be respected with a production strategy, where every antigen is adsorbed separately in a controlled manner, before it is mixed with other antigens to the final bulk vaccine. This strategy is favoured over strategies with sequential or competitive adsorption of the antigens. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.