A novel procedure has been developed for the encapsulation of peptide antigens in poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres, which employs trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as a carrier solvent for both the polymer and antigen. The antigen/polymer solution is emulsified in mineral oil containing sorbitan trioleate (Span 85) as an emulsifier and a low level of cottonseed oil to extract the TFA. Fluoresceinisothiocyanate-labelled bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA) was used as a model antigen to characterize the microencapsulation. Microspheres were of the desired size (< 10 mm) for targeting to antigen-presenting cells, and released the model antigen slowly after an initial burst release (11%) in PBS/0.02% Tween 80 at 37C. Subsequently, a potential peptide vaccine, designated MVFMF2, for the human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) was encapsulated at 4.7% loading using the novel oil-in-oil method. In vivo immune responses were examined in rabbits immunized with (i) encapsulated MVFMF2 together with encapsulated adjuvant (N-acetyl-glucosamine-3yl-acetyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine, nor-MDP, (ii) encapsulated MVFMF2 without adjuvant, and (iii) free peptide with adjuvant. Inoculation of the encapsulated peptide produced an antibody response similar to that of the free peptide emulsified in adjuvant. Moreover, the elevated immune response elicited by the encapsulated peptide was observed without multiple booster immunizations and irrespective of whether an adjuvant was used. Additionally, the antibodies raised against both free and encapsulated MVFMF2 had similar affinities, as judged by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA), indicating that the encapsulated peptide retained a significant fraction of its epitopes. Hence, these results demonstrate that peptide vaccines can be encapsulated in PLGA microspheres using a common carrier solvent for both the peptide and polymer, which produces a desirable immune response in the absence of an adjuvant.