Development and Characterization of a Thermostable Liquid Formulation of Live Newcastle Disease Vaccine

Vaccination remains the core strategy for the prevention and control of Newcastle disease (ND). The inherent thermosensitivity of traditional Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccines imposes major limitations on their transportation, storage, and field application. To address these challenges, a novel liquid, thermostable, live ND vaccine was developed in the present study. Firstly, Tris/HCl buffer at near-neutral pH was identified as the optimal basic buffer system. On this basis, further screening and formulation optimization of vaccine stabilizers were conducted, and NDV strains with excellent thermal stability were used to verify the stability-conferring properties of the developed stabilizer. The results showed that the formulation composed of 0.5% gelatin, 4% trehalose, 0.1% L-glutamic acid, and 0.5% thiourea was confirmed as the optimal stabilizer for ND liquid vaccines. This formulation maintained the stable storage of the tested NDV for 12 months at 4 °C and exhibited promising stability for 30 days at 25 °C, marking a significant advancement toward development thermostable NDV vaccines that are independent of a continuous cold chain. More importantly, the liquid vaccine stored at 4 °C for 12 months still induced high levels of NDV-specific antibodies in specific pathogen-free chicks and provided 100% protective efficacy against challenge with virulent NDV. In conclusion, the liquid vaccine stabilizer developed in this study not only significantly enhanced the thermostability of the vaccine but also effectively maintained its immunogenicity, thereby providing an important theoretical basis for the research and development of liquid ND vaccines.