REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1557415

This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Adjuvant Strategies: Enhancing Vaccine Efficacy Through Transdisciplinary ApproachesView all 4 articles

The Recent advances in vaccine adjuvants

Provisionally accepted
Jiayin  XingJiayin XingXiangxiang  ZhaoXiangxiang ZhaoXiaotian  LiXiaotian LiRen  FangRen FangMingrui  SunMingrui SunYang  ZhangYang ZhangNingning  SongNingning Song*
  • College of Life Science and Technology, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Vaccine adjuvants, as key components in enhancing vaccine immunogenicity, play a vital role in modern vaccinology. This review systematically examines the historical evolution and mechanisms of vaccine adjuvants, with particular emphasis on innovative advancements in aluminum-based adjuvants, emulsion-based adjuvants, and nucleic acid adjuvants (e.g., CpG oligonucleotides). Specifically, aluminum adjuvants enhance immune responses through particle formation/antigen adsorption, inflammatory cascade activation, and T-cell stimulation. Emulsion adjuvants amplify immunogenicity via antigen depot effects and localized inflammation, while nucleic acid adjuvants like CpG oligonucleotides directly activate B cells and dendritic cells to promote Th1-type immune responses and memory T-cell generation. The article further explores the prospective applications of these novel adjuvants in combating emerging pathogens (including influenza and SARS-CoV-2), particularly highlighting their significance in improving vaccine potency and durability. Moreover, this review underscores the critical importance of adjuvant development in next-generation vaccine design and provides theoretical foundations for creating safer, effective adjuvant.

Keywords: adjuvants, Delivery Systems, immunostimulants, Vaccine, Combinatorial adjuvant strategies

Received: 08 Jan 2025; Accepted: 23 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Xing, Zhao, Li, Fang, Sun, Zhang and Song. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Ningning Song, College of Life Science and Technology, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.