Development of TLR7 Agonist-Antibody Conjugates
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Access changed 8/3/17.
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The search for better, more effective vaccines has been an intriguing subject of research since the days of Jenner and the first smallpox vaccine. We have proposed a method of overcoming the weaknesses of current vaccines by taking advantage of a specific pathway of the adaptive immune response. This pathway uses the stimulation of an internalized toll-like receptor, which is found in dendritic cells, to promote an antiviral response to a specific pathogen. For this method to work, we must attach our toll-like receptor agonist and a target antigen to an antibody for delivery to the dendritic cell. This thesis includes both the development of the synthesis of the agonist, as well as the chemistry used to conjugate the agonist to the antibody.