Nanoparticle Delivery of Immunostimulatory Agents for Cancer Immunotherapy

Jia Zhuang¹, Maya Holay¹, Joon Ho Park¹, Ronnie H. Fang¹, Jie Zhang^2✉, Liangfang Zhang^1✉

1. Department of NanoEngineering, Chemical Engineering Program, and Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
2. Cello Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, CA 92121, USA.

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Citation:
Zhuang J, Holay M, Park JH, Fang RH, Zhang J, Zhang L. Nanoparticle Delivery of Immunostimulatory Agents for Cancer Immunotherapy. Theranostics 2019; 9(25):7826-7848. doi:10.7150/thno.37216. Available from https://www.thno.org/v09p7826.htm

Abstract

Immunostimulatory agents, including adjuvants, cytokines, and monoclonal antibodies, hold great potential for the treatment of cancer. However, their direct administration often results in suboptimal pharmacokinetics, vulnerability to biodegradation, and compromised targeting. More recently, encapsulation into biocompatible nanoparticulate carriers has become an emerging strategy for improving the delivery of these immunotherapeutic agents. Such approaches can address many of the challenges facing current treatment modalities by endowing additional protection and significantly elevating the bioavailability of the encapsulated payloads. To further improve the delivery efficiency and subsequent immune responses associated with current nanoscale approaches, biomimetic modifications and materials have been employed to create delivery platforms with enhanced functionalities. By leveraging nature-inspired design principles, these biomimetic nanodelivery vehicles have the potential to alter the current clinical landscape of cancer immunotherapy.

Keywords: biomimetic nanoparticle, cancer immunotherapy, immune stimulation, adjuvant, cytokine, checkpoint blockade