A comparison of the effect of three adjuvants on the antibody response to ovalbumin in mice

Adjuvants are added to a vaccine to enhance the antibody response to the antigen. A number of different materials have been used as adjuvants. In this study, mice were immunized with ovalbumin plus one of three adjuvants: Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA), Freund's incomplete adjuvant (FIA), or alum. Control mice received no vaccine. FCA is generally considered the strongest adjuvant and alum the weakest, but use of FCA is often avoided due to concerns over negative effects on the animals. All mice that received an adjuvant/antigen vaccination produced high levels of antibodies to ovalbumin, whereas no control mice did. Levels of anti-ovalbumin antibodies were not significantly different between groups that received FCA, FIA, or alum. Of the three adjuvants tested, alum is the most cost-effective and possibly the safest for the animal. This, coupled with the results of this study, suggest that it is the most practical of the three tested adjuvants, at least in conjunction with ovalbumin as an antigen. However, different antigens may require different adjuvants, and a general recommendation would require further testing.