Immunologic Adjuvants
Immunologic adjuvants are added to vaccines to stimulate the immune system's response to the target antigen, but do not in themselves confer immunity. Adjuvants can act in various ways in presenting an antigen to the immune system. Adjuvants can act as a depot for the antigen, presenting the antigen over a long period of time, thus maximizing the immune response before the body clears the antigen. Examples of depot type adjuvants are oil emulsions. Adjuvants can also act as an irritant which causes the body to recruit and amplify its immune response. A tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccine, for example, contains minute quantities of toxins produced by each of the target bacteria, but also contains some aluminium hydroxide. Such aluminium salts are common adjuvants in vaccines sold in the United States and have been used in vaccines for over 70 years. The body's immune system develops an antitoxin to the bacteria's toxins, not to the aluminium, but would not respond enough without the help of the aluminium adjuvant.
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