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@article{197525,
        author = {AAQILA SUJAUTHEEN and Danya sri R S},
        title = {Engineered Peptide Constructs for Immune Response Modulation against Viral Pathogens},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {11},
        pages = {5676-5690},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=197525},
        abstract = {Engineered peptide constructs have emerged as a versatile and rapidly advancing class of antiviral immunotherapeutics capable of overcoming key limitations of conventional vaccine platforms. Drawing on literature published between 2020 and 2025, this review synthesizes developments in multi-epitope peptide vaccines, peptide-based immunomodulators, nanomaterial-assisted delivery systems and computationally optimized epitope design. Viral pathogens continue to impose enormous global health and economic burdens, exacerbated by antigenic drift, viral immune evasion, drug resistance, inequitable vaccine distribution, and insufficient durability of current vaccines. Peptide constructs offer several advantages, including modular design, high specificity, safety, rapid manufacturability, broad HLA coverage, and compatibility with biomaterial delivery technologies. Advances in lipidated peptides, self-assembling nanofibers, peptide–nanoparticle conjugates, VLP-displayed epitopes, and mRNA-encoded peptides have demonstrated enhanced antigen presentation, strong Th1-biased T-cell activation, improved stability, and cross-variant immune responses in preclinical and early clinical studies. Notable candidates such as UB-612 and COVAC-1 have shown durable cellular immunity and variant resilience, particularly in immunocompromised populations. Despite this progress, substantial gaps remain, including limited Phase III clinical evidence, lack of validated correlates of protection, inconsistent demographic representation in trials, regulatory uncertainty, and manufacturing complexities associated with hybrid biomaterial–peptide systems. Future research must prioritize robust mechanistic immunology, systems-level immune profiling, improved animal models, advanced immunoinformatic pipelines, scalable delivery platforms, and global policy reforms that support equitable deployment. Overall, engineered peptides represent a promising next-generation direction for antiviral vaccines and immunotherapies with strong potential for rapid pandemic response, variant-independent protection, and broader global accessibility.},
        keywords = {Engineered peptide vaccines; Multiepitope immunotherapy; Antiviral vaccine design; T-cell–mediated immunity; Nanomaterial-assisted delivery; Pandemic preparedness},
        month = {April},
        }