Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious disease of wild and domestic cloven–hoofed animals such as cattle, swine and deer. It is caused by one of the most contagious animal diseases known; FMD virus (FMDV). Since the disease is endemic in many countries, transmission by international travel/trade presents an on-going potential threat to the UK. Very little is known at the molecular level about how FMDV replicates within host cells. In this study, FMDV replicons have been used to investigate FMDV RNA replication and to improve our understanding of the viral life cycle: a process which will aid in the production of a new generation of live-attenuated vaccine candidate strains. Sequences encoding the capsid coding region of the genome have been replaced with green fluorescent protein (GFP) such that replication can be monitored in live cells via GFP fluorescence. This provides a rapid, non-invasive screen for replicative fitness that can be used outwith high disease security facilities. Differences between replicating and non-replicating forms could easily be distinguished, highlighting the potential of this system to screen for attenuated genomes. The FMDV replicon system was improved through a series of construct modifications until an optimal system was produced. A range of different methods were used to attenuate the replication of these genomes. Of major significance is the finding that increasing dinucleotide frequencies were shown to decrease growth kinetics of Echovirus 7 – as opposed to altering the codon-pair bias - and the application of this finding to construction of further replicon systems (and RNA viruses in general) is described.

<p>Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiologic agent of tuberculosis (TB), is among the leading causes of death from infectious disease world-wide. An intracellular pathogen, M. tuberculosis infects phagocytic cells, and subverts the host immune response, preventing eradication once infection has been established. Even after successful chemotherapy, exogenous re-infection occurs, indicating that sterilizing immune responses are not generated during natural infection. While a TB vaccine exists, it does not alter M. tuberculosis infection rate, rather it prevents the progression from latent TB infection to active TB disease. Vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumonia protect from bacterial colonization and infection through the induction of antibodies to capsular surface components. This dissertation explores if antibodies to the surface of M. tuberculosis can alter the initial interaction between a bacterium and host cell, leading to a reduction in infection rate. </p><p> When pre-mixed with M. tuberculosis prior to in vitro infection of macrophages, or retropharyngeal instillation of mice, monoclonal surface-binding, but not non-surface-binding antibodies, decrease bacterial burden and the number of infected cells within the first twenty-four hour of infection. If administered retropharyngeally prior to aerosol exposure, surface-binding antibodies decreased pulmonary bacterial burden at twenty-four hours post infection in an Fc&#947;R independent manner. Despite decreasing early bacterial burden, pre-administration of surface-binding antibodies prior to ultra-low dose aerosol infection did not alter infection rate compared to mice instilled with PBS (Chapters 4 and 5). </p><p> Infected humans do not produce high-titer, high-avidity surface-binding antibodies. Plasma from uninfected controls, individuals with latent TB infection, and active TB disease was assayed by ELISA to determine the titer, avidity and IgG/IgM ratio for antibodies to the surface and additional bacterial fraction. In contrast to antibodies to bacterial fractions, individuals with active TB disease had decreased avidity, and no augmentation of the IgG/IgM ratio for antibodies to the live M. tuberculosis surface, as compared to uninfected controls (Chapter 3). </p><p> Overall these findings demonstrate that surface-binding monoclonal antibodies alter early infection events, both in vivo and in vitro, though the magnitude of protection was not sufficient to decrease M. tuberculosis infection rate. Additionally, the failure of humans to generate high-titer, high-avidity surface-binding antibodies after infection indicates and that induction of surface-binding antibodies may be an appropriate target for future vaccines.</p> / Dissertation

Biology is the study of viruses, which are engaged in teaching 2-3 lessons. During those hours, students must not only absorb information about the structure and function of the virus, but also the reproduction of the organism, several representatives and, ultimately, diseases that cause that exists prevention and treatment these diseases. Students remember what it is for the vaccine, the virus infects whom, how they can get infected or what the immune system. What makes the problem of students are questions: which of the viral disease is, what constitutes a viral particle, or what is an infectious disease. In the RVP G is determined curriculum is very vaguely. The teacher thus has a certain freedom in creating the ŠVP and its preparations. To more precise what students should know for graduation, testing requirements used common catalog of the school-leaving examination in this case of biology, who has broken the outputs of the curriculum of all biological disciplines.

BACKGROUND: Now considered a cornerstone of healthcare, patient-provider communication has long been studied and analyzed. Medical associations such as the Joint Commission and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) have strongly endorsed for physicians to exercise patient-focused communication, a practice that involves showing empathy, involving patients in medical care decisions, eliciting concerns, and educating patients on treatment options (Joint Commission, 2016; AAOS, 2017). A lack of patient-provider communication has previously been identified as a significant factor in adverse medical outcomes occurring within hospitals (Khan et al., 2017). Bridging the communication disparity between patients and providers is crucial to improving overall patient outcome. Primary care providers are especially essential to improving overall patient outcome because they serve as the first point of contact for many patients accessing the healthcare system. While there is much literature on the importance of effective patient-provider communication, few studies provide technology-based tools that can enhance this establishment of communication. Human Papillomavirus is presently the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) nationwide with 79 million Americans currently infected (CDC, 2017). Approximately 42,700 HPV-attributable cancers are diagnosed in the United States annually, and HPV is believed to be responsible for over 90% of cervical cancer cases (CDC, 2018). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) currently recommends three preventative HPV vaccines. Despite high rates of infection, HPV vaccination rates nationwide remain low as coverage of the HPV vaccine falls behind that of coverage for required vaccines like the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) (Reagan-Steiner, 2016). Previous studies have sought to address factors that affect decisions to vaccinate children. An analyzation of the National Immunization Survey of Teens has identified that parents’ belief that the HPV was not necessary as a main factor (Darden et al., 2013). As a result, there is a gap needed to be filled by providers to educate parents on the importance of the HPV vaccine. PURPOSE: The current study sought to determine the effectiveness of a web-based mobile health education program called Wheel of Wellness (WoW) on patient-provider communication, to assess the viability and impact of WoW to increase HPV vaccination rates in age eligible children (boys and girls aged 9-17) and to augment awareness about the benefits of HPV vaccination in both these children and their guardians. RESEARCH METHOD AND DESIGN: As of August 2018, twenty-seven parents of children between the ages of 9 and 17 years of age within the Pediatrics and Adolescent departments of Boston Medical Center (BMC) have been recruited. Parents enrolled in the WoW program to compile a list of concerns to be shown to a provider during their child’s appointment. Participants were asked questions to determine initial knowledge on the HPV vaccine, and their opinions on the HPV vaccine. Following their appointment, participants completed a questionnaire to assess opinions on the WoW program in facilitating communication with their provider on the HPV vaccine and related cancers. Seven physicians were interviewed to assess their views on the WoW program in facilitating communication with their patients on the HPV vaccine and related cancers. RESULTS: Initial stages of this study found that views on the effectiveness of the WoW program in facilitating patient and provider communication on the different aspects of HPV vaccination and affecting parents’ decisions to vaccinate their children were mixed by both patients and their providers. Based on the WoW feedback collected from parents, the system was widely acceptable in terms of ease in usage and with the majority of parents (92%) reporting that the WoW website is helpful for communicating their health concerns with their provider. However, the majority of providers reported having never been presented the WoW system and expressed views that WoW was inefficient as it was a parallel system to existing workflow. This study determined that of the 12 participants who had one dose of the vaccine prior to enrollment, 75% of these participants completed the HPV vaccine series during the study. CONCLUSION: Based on the initiation and completion statistics reported, this shows great potential for the use of the BNI coupled with the WoW system to help improve rates of initiation and completion of HPV vaccination going forward as the intervention may have helped encourage parents to either initiate vaccination or complete their child’s previously started series. Further studies should explore ways of empowering patients to facilitate more communication with their providers and improvements to technology to enhance provider recommendation in order to promote an increase in HPV vaccine completion. / 2021-06-17T00:00:00Z

MSc (Med), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / Background: RTS,S candidate malaria vaccine has been shown to be highly immunogenic in children and infants, but the protective immune mechanisms still remain to be clearly elucidated. It is believed that RTS,S elicits a strong neutralizing humoral immune response directed against surface-exposed sporozoite proteins and cell mediated immune (CMI) responses characterized by predominantly CD4+ Th1 cells. The objective of this study was to investigate humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to the RTS,S/AS02D malaria vaccine and its association with protection against infection and disease by P. falciparum. Methodology and Principal Findings: This secondary data analysis from data of a phase I/IIb randomized, double-blind, controlled trial, included 154 healthy infants living in rural Mozambique, previously immunized with RTS,S/AS02D candidate malaria vaccine or the control Engerix-B™ vaccine. Antibodies against circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) were measured with a standard ELISA. Fresh blood intracellular staining assay was performed to evaluate the expression of IL-2 and IFN-γ by CD4+ and CD8+ cells in response to in vitro stimulation of specific peptides. Data was evaluated for association with the risk of malaria detected by both active and passive case detection of infection over a period of 6 months post dose 3. Anti-HBs antibody geometric mean titers declined from 10,082 mIU/mL one month post Dose 3 to 2,751 mIU/mL at 12 months post Dose 3 in the RTS,S/AS02D group; anti-HBs v geometric mean titers were 392.4 mIU/mL and 263.9 mIU/mL, respectively in the Engerix- BTM group. Anti-CSP antibody geometric mean titers declined from 199.9 EU/mL one month post Dose 3 to 7.3 EU/mL at 12 months post Dose 3 in the RTS,S/AS02D group. Median stimulation indices of HBs-specific IL-2 and IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells was higher in the RTS,S/AS02D group than in control group (Wilcoxon rank sum p-values for IFN-γ = 0.015, for IL-2 = 0.030) at 10.5 weeks post immunization. Median stimulation indices of anti-CSP specific IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells at the same time point was 1.13 (IQR: 0.79 - 1.67; p=0.029). For specific IL-2-producing CD4+ T cells, the median SI was 1.14 (IQR: 0.74 – 1.60, p=0.043) at 10.5 weeks post dose three. The reduction in hazards of malaria infection were 18.3 % (95% CI: -267.9 – 81.8, p=0.793) and -12.0 % (95% CI: -295 – 68.2, p=0.86) for specific IL-2 CD4+ stimulation indices; For specific CD8+ IFN-γ stimulation indices the hazards were -103.6% (95% CI: -690.9 – 47.6; p=0.305) and 48.8% (95% CI: -97.0 – 86.7; p=0.33) at four and 10.5 weeks post immunization respectively. Conclusion: The RTS,S/AS02D vaccine was immunogenic and has elicited detectable levels of CSP specific cell mediated responses. No evidence of association was found between the antibodies anti-CSP and specific cell mediated responses and the risk of malaria.

Master of Science / The hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine has contributed greatly to decreasing the HBV epidemic. However, it remains unclear why 5-10% of individuals do not mount an adequate antibody response. Previous studies have shown that genetic variation influences HBV vaccine response. Since such studies are lacking in South African individuals, we examined the associations between HBV vaccine response and genetic variation in HLA-DPB1, additional candidate genes and HLA-DPB1 expression levels in a South African cohort. HLA-DPA1 and -DPB1 allele typing was performed using Luminex technology, twenty-four candidate SNPs were typed by MassArray Analysis and HLA-DPB1 mRNA expression levels were measured by qPCR. HLA-DPB1*01:01, *04:01:01G and *09:01 and SNPs and haplotypes in IL1B, IL4, IL12B, IFNG and the HLA region were significantly associated with HBV vaccine response. A trend of lower HLA-DPB1 expression associating with better anti-HBs response was observed, although this was not significant. Response to the HBV vaccine is multi-genic but HLA-DP plays an important role. / CR2017

Os óleos vegetais são matérias primas de fontes renováveis. São metabolizáveis, biodegradáveis, de fácil disponibilidade e baixo custo. A necessidade de adjuvantes vacinais seguros e que possam modular a resposta imunológica Th1/Th2, favorece a busca por novas substâncias que assim se comportem. Este trabalho tem o objetivo de avaliar e identificar óleo vegetal capaz de mimetizar ação adjuvante dos óleos minerais comercialmente usados e modular a resposta imune. Foram realizados testes de toxicidade aguda in vivo, testes de formação de emulsões, de estabilidade, de qualidade e, por fim, de imunogenicidade com formulações com o vírus rábico. Algumas formulações derivadas dos óleos de girassol, canola e buriti se mostraram não tóxicas, estáveis e de boa qualidade. Os grupos de camundongos inoculados com estas formulações obtiveram respostas imunológicas que apoiam sua capacidade adjuvante, não diferenciando significativamente (p<0,05) dos resultados do óleo mineral comercial. Concluiu-se que é possível elaborar emulsões estáveis não tóxicas a partir de óleos vegetais para sua utilização como veículos e adjuvantes vacinais. Formulações vacinais em forma de emulsões de óleos vegetais, compostas na sua maior parte pelos óleos de girassol e de canola possuem potência e atividade adjuvante semelhantes e tão eficientes quanto aos do óleo mineral. Os óleos vegetais devem estar em seu estado bruto ou semirrefinado, sem a adição de antioxidantes e conservantes. Por último, parece haver uma tendência de equilíbrio de resposta Th1/Th2 para as formulações com óleos vegetais. / Vegetable oils are renewable raw materials. These substances are metabolizable, biodegradable, of easy availability and low cost. The need for safe vaccine adjuvants that can modulate the Th1/Th2 immune response drives the search for new substances with similar behavior. This study aims to evaluate and identify a vegetable oil able to mimic the adjuvant action of the mineral oils used commercially, and modulate the immune response. There were performed tests of in vivo acute toxicity, emulsion formation, stability, quality and immunogenicity with formulations with rabies virus. Some formulations derived from the sunflower, canola and buriti oils proved to be non-toxic, stable and of good quality. Groups of mice inoculated with these formulations had immune responses supporting their adjuvant capacity, not differing significantly (p <0.05) from the results of the commercial mineral oil. It was concluded that it is possible to prepare stable non-toxic emulsions from vegetable oils to be used as vaccine adjuvants and vehicles. Vaccine formulations as emulsions from vegetable oil, composed mostly by the oils of sunflower and canola had adjuvant activity and potency similar to and as effective as the mineral oil. The vegetable oils should be in its raw state or semi refined, without the addition of antioxidants and preservatives. Finally, there seems to be a tendency to balance Th1/Th2 response by formulations with vegetable oils.

Influenza, também conhecida como gripe, é uma doença infecciosa viral que acomete um grande número de indivíduos anualmente, sendo responsável por um elevado número de internações e óbitos. O agente etiológico é o Myxovirus influenzae, vírus envelopado, de RNA de fita simples e polaridade negativa. A vacinação é a forma mais eficaz de se prevenir a infecção pelo vírus, no entanto, a capacidade produtiva dessa vacina não é suficiente para a vacinação da totalidade da população mundial, principalmente em casos de pandemia. Esse projeto teve por objetivo desenvolver uma vacina influenza (fragmentada e inativada) adjuvada, visando aumentar a capacidade produtiva dessa vacina no Instituto Butantan, que hoje é estimada em aproximadamente 40 milhões de doses por campanha. A utilização de adjuvantes na formulação da vacina influenza é capaz de produzir a mesma resposta imunológica protetora contra esse vírus, utilizando uma quantidade menor dos antígenos vacinais, aumentando a capacidade de produção da vacina em até quatro vezes. Foram estudadas 23 formulações adjuvantes utilizando o esqualeno como referência (formulação similar ao MF59®, adjuvante desenvolvido pela Novartis), vitaminas lipossolúveis (vitaminas A, D e E), vitamina B2 (vitamina hidrossolúvel), MPLA (monofosforil lipídio A, produzido pelo Instituto Butantan como subproduto da vacina pertussis low) e gel de hidróxido de alumínio. Para tanto, foram avaliadas a resposta imune conferida a camundongos BALB/c após imunização com diferentes formulações de vacina influenza (fragmentada e inativada) adjuvada e a existência, ou não, de toxicidade induzida pelas formulações vacinais estudadas. As formulações vacinais mais promissoras farão parte das formulações candidatas para realizações de ensaios clínicos. Os animais foram imunizados por via intraperitoneal com as formulações vacinais e foram colhidas amostras de sangue para ensaios sorológicos (inibição de hemaglutinação e ELISA) e células esplênicas para avaliação celular (dosagem de citocinas por citometria de fluxo: IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17 TNF-&#945; e INF-&#947;). Além disso, em um dos experimentos avaliou-se a formação de memória imunológica contra influenza, parâmetro importante em se pensando em uma vacina. Os três primeiros experimentos foram uma triagem a partir da qual selecionaram-se as melhores formulações que foram testadas no último experimento. Nele foram avaliados além da indução de resposta imune a toxicidade e a memória imunológica. Todas as 23 formulações estudadas induziram resposta minimamente protetora nos animais, com exceção da formulação contendo apenas MPLA como adjuvante. As formulações que se mostraram mais promissoras continham além do gel de AI(OH)3 MPLA de B. pertussis ou vitamina B2. Isso sem considerar o tocoferol (vitamina E), que embora tenha apresentado bons resultados acabou preterido em decorrência de sua potencial relação com casos de narcolepsia descritos na literatura. O teste de memória foi capaz de demonstrar que essas formulações produzem resposta de memória imunológica duradoura. Assim, tem-se resultados promissores para novos estudos pré-clínicos e clínicos com a vacina influenza (fragmentada e inativada) sazonal (trivalente). / Influenza, also known as flu, is a viral infectious disease that infects a large number of people annually, being responsible by large morbidity and mortality rates. The etiologic agent is the Myxovirus influenzae, an enveloped virus with single-stranded RNA and negative polarity. Vaccination is the best way to prevent the virus infection; however, the production capacity of this vaccine is not sufficient to vaccinate the entire world population, especially in cases of pandemics. This project aimed to develop an adjuvanted influenza vaccine (split and inactivated), increasing the productive capacity of this vaccine in Instituto Butantan, which is estimated in approximately 40 million of doses by campaign. Influenza vaccines formulated with adjuvants can produce the same protective immunological response against the virus using less amount of antigen increasing the production capacity of this vaccine up to four times. Twenty-three adjuvants containing fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D and E), vitamin B2 (water-soluble vitamin), MPLA (monophosphoryl lipid A, produced by Instituto Butantan as a byproduct of pertussis low vaccine production) and aluminum hydroxide gel were studied. An adjuvant similar to MF59® (Novartis adjuvant) containing squalene was used as control. The immune response elicited in BALB/c mice after immunization with the different formulations of the influenza vaccine and the existence or not of toxicity induced by the vaccines formulations were studied. The most promising formulation will be part of the candidate formulations of clinicai trials. The animais received the vaccine formulations intraperitoneally and at specific days blood samples were taken to serological tests (hemagglutination inhibition and ELISA). At the end, they were euthanized to collect the spleens and splenic cells were cultivated to evaluate cytokines by flow cytometry: IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17 TNF-&#945; and INF-&#947;. Furthermore, in one experiment the immunological memory against influenza was evaluated, an important parameter to vaccines. The most promising formulations contained besides to alum either B. pertussis MPLA or B2 vitamin. Tocopherol (vitamin E) presented good results too, however it has a potential relationship with reported cases of narcolepsy. The memory test was able to demonstrate that these formulations induced long lasting immune memory response. Thus, these are promising results for new pre-clinical and clinical trials with seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine (split and inactivated).

A piodermite bacteriana afeta cães de todas as idades, podendo ser recorrente por toda a vida. O principal agente etiológico é o Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, que é um micro-organismo saprófita da pele, agindo como oportunista frente a alguma fragilidade na barreira imunológica. A imunização dos cães através de uma vacina eficaz tem sido um desafio, pois a vacina comercial atualmente utilizada em clínicas veterinárias é de uso terapêutico e não tem caráter preventivo. Um dos problemas da vacina de uso terapêutico para piodermite é a dependência de um bom diagnóstico diferencial em relação a outras doenças de pele ou sistêmicas que tem como sequelas a erupção cutânea. Os animais que recebem a vacina terapêutica e não a preventiva são os que já apresentam problemas de pele reincidentes e são tratados concomitantemente com antibióticos. O objetivo do presente trabalho é desenvolver um antígeno vacinal com possibilidade de aplicação por via intradérmica de modo a tratar preventivamente a piodermite canina causada por Staphylococcus spp:. A via de administração intradérmica tem como finalidade estimular uma resposta imune sistêmica, principalmente por ativação das células dendríticas da derme, de modo a estimular estas células apresentadoras de antígeno no local onde ocorrem as infecções piodérmicas. Os resultados apresentados neste trabalho demonstraram que a inoculação intradérmica foram estatisticamente igual, quando comparada com a inoculação intraperitoneal, no que se refere à inibição por anticorpos: da atividade hemolítica, da atividade da catalase, da atividade da coagulase e da atividade citotóxica, bem como na reação antígeno-anticorpo determinado por ensaio imunoenzimático. Este trabalho também demonstra que a melhor formulação do antígeno estafilocóccico foi preparado a partir de sobrenadante de cultura diafiltrado por filtração tangencial com \"cut off\" de 5.000 Da. Outras preparações utilizando somente células bacterianas ou associação de sobrenadante com células bacterianas, apesar de produzirem antigenicidade, apresentaram títulos inferiores do que quando empregado somente sobrenadante de cultura diafiltrado. / The bacterial pyoderma affects dogs of all ages and can be recurrent for a lifetime. The main etiologic agent is Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, which is a saprophytic organism of the skin, acting as an opportunistic opposite to some weakness in the immune barrier. The immunization of dogs through an effective vaccine has been a challenge, since currently it has been used commercially in veterinary clinics is therapeutic and has a preventive character. One of the problems of the therapeutic use of the vaccine for pyoderma is dependent on a good differential diagnosis in relation to other skin diseases or systemic consequences which is the rash, so treatment often does not reach its goal. Animals receiving this vaccine are those who already have skin problems again and are receiving concomitant antibiotics. The objective of this study is to develop a vaccine antigen with the possibility of implementing a preventive treatment for canine pyoderma caused by Staphylococcus spp: through pre-clinical studies, for use in young and adults, preferably before they develop any type of skin disorder primary or secondary. The administration route is intradermal, stimulating an immune response primarily by dendritic cells to become a barrier to microorganisms, as well as systemic, by the production of antibodies, to last for at least one year until needed in the body booster vaccination. The results presented here demonstrated that the intradermal inoculation was statistically equivalent when compared to intraperitoneal inoculation with regard to inhibition by antibody: of the hemolytic activity, catalase activity, the coagulase activity and cytotoxic activity, as well as antigen-antibody reaction determined by enzyme immunoassay. This work also demonstrates that the best estafilococcico antigen formulation was prepared from the culture supernatant diafiltered by tangential filtration with \"cut off\" of 5,000 Da. Other preparations using only the bacterial cells or the association of supernatant with bacterial cells, although producing antigenicity, showed lower titles than when used dialyzed culture supernatant alone.

Uma vacina liofilizada, em comparação a uma líquida, possui inúmeras vantagens, tais como: a melhora na estabilidade do produto às variações de temperatura aumentando sua vida de prateleira, possibilitando uma melhor logística do produto aos locais onde o acesso à rede refrigerada é difícil. O presente trabalho visou investigar as estratégias do processo para a conservação da potência da vacina rábica de uso veterinário por liofilização. O material testado foi a vacina rábica inativada (VRI). Ao total foram testados 13 excipientes com três concentrações diferentes. O processo de triagem utilizado para a escolha das melhores formulações (VRI + excipiente) foi liofilização em microplacas próprias para cultivo celular adaptadas ao liofilizador, sendo posteriormente verificada a preservação da antigenicidade da vacina por meio do teste de ELISA. A análise estatística foi realizada no programa SPSS® v.17, aplicando análise de regressão para dados categóricos. A arginina 0,5%, o PEG 3350 0,5%, a sacarose 2%, a maltose 1% e a trealose 1% foram os que deram melhores resultados, um alto \"score\" de antigenicidade em comparação à vacina liofilizada sem adição de excipientes. A temperatura de colapso da VRI e de suas diversas formulações foi determinada por meio de um microscópio acoplado a um módulo de liofilização. A análise térmica foi realizada em Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (Differential Scanning Calorimetry - DSC). Realizou-se os seguintes testes para avaliação da VRI liofilizada em frasco ampola: microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) para análise da estrutura da pastilha e o antibody-binding test (ABT) - Teste de ligação do anticorpo modificado para determinação da potência da VRI e suas formulações. A umidade residual da VRI com PEG3350 0,5% liofilizada foi determinada em temperatura constante de 100ºC resultou em 1,60%. A pastilha da vacina rábica + PEG 3350 0,5% liofilizada em frasco ampola apresentou a elegância farmacêutica esperada de um produto liofilizado. / A lyophilized vaccine, compared to a liquid form, has many advantages, such as the improvement in product stability to changes in temperature by increasing its shelf life, allowing better logistics for product to locations where access to chill is difficult to achieve. This work has investigated the strategies of the process for the conservation of the potency of rabies vaccine for veterinary use by lyophilization. The material tested is an inactivated rabies vaccine (VRI). Altogether 13 excipients were tested with three different concentrations. The screening process used to choose best formulation (s) (VRI + excipient) was lyophilization in microplates suitable for cell culture adapted to the lyophilizer, and subsequently verified the preservation of the antigenicity of the vaccine through the ELISA test. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS® v.17, applying regression analysis for categorical data. Arginine 0.5%, PEG 3350 0.5%, Sucrose 2%, Maltose 1% and Trehalose 1% were those that gave better results, a high score of antigenicity compared to the lyophilized vaccine with no added excipients. The temperature of collapse of VRI and its various formulations was determined using a microscope coupled to a module of lyophilization. Thermal analysis was performed in Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The following tests were used for evaluation of freeze-dried VRI: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Antibody-binding test (ABT). The residual moisture of lyophilized samples were determined in the moisture analyzer at constant temperature of 100 °C and resulted in 1.60%. The cake of lyophilized rabies vaccine + 0.5% PEG 3350 in vial showed the pharmaceutical elegance expected of a lyophilized product.