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Table 2 Approximate diameters and chemical constituents of particulate adjuvants used in humans for prophylactic vaccination against viral infections a

From: Properties and prospects of adjuvants in influenza vaccination - messy precipitates or blessed opportunities?

Adjuvant name (Provider; year licensed)

Particle size (nm)

Adjuvant type

Chemical constituents

Vaccines (virus)

Aluminum salt (Various; 1924)

1,000-20,000b

Mineral salts

Aluminium hydroxyphosphate or Aluminum hydroxysulfate or Aluminum oxyhydroxide

Various

MF59 (Novartis; 1997)

160c

Oil-in-water emulsion

Squalene, polysorbate 80, sorbitan trioleate

Fluad (seasonal influenza), Focetria (pandemic influenza), Aflunov (pre-pandemic influenza)

AS03 (GlaxoSmithKline; 2005)

< 200d

Oil-in-water emulsion

Squalene; polysorbate 80, α-tocopherol

Pandemrix (pandemic influenza), Prepandrix (pre-pandemic influenza)

Virosomes (Berna Biotech; 2000)

100-200e

Liposomes

Influenza virus (lipid) envelope

Inflexal (seasonal influenza), Epaxal (hepatitis A)

AS04 (GlaxoSmithKline; 2005)

1,000-20,000b

Alum-adsorbed TLR4 agonist

Aluminum oxyhydroxide, MPL

Fendrix (hepatitis B), Cervarix (human papilloma virus)

  1. aData reported are for the vaccine formulations with antigens. bValues are from a review by Hem & HogenEsch [76]. cValue from a review by O’Hagan et al.[77]. dValue from a review by Garcon et al.[78]. eValue from de Jonge et al.[79].