Guides for Developing Vaccines

There is a series of guidelines and stages scientists must meet to develop a vaccine. The first step is to generate the antigen in order to induce an immune response. By inducing a response, the pathogen is harvested and generates a recombinant protein. Next, the antigen is released from the cells and isolated from the material used in it’s growth. This is required to release as much virus or bacteria as possible. The third step is to purify the antigen using chromatography- a method of separating materials. Following the purification process, the addition of an adjuvant (a material that nonspecifically enhances immune responses) may be added to the vaccine. Finally, all of the components that contribute to the creation of the final vaccine are mixed uniformly in a single vessel and labeled for widespread distribution.