Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy is a powerful treatment strategy that mobilizes the immune system to fight disease. Cancer vaccination is one form of cancer immunotherapy, where spatiotemporal control of the delivery of tumor-specific antigens, adjuvants, and/or cytokines has been key to successfully activating the immune system. Nanoscale materials that take advantage of chemistry to control the nanoscale structural arrangement, composition, and release of immunostimulatory components have shown significant promise in this regard. In this Outlook, we examine how the nanoscale structure, chemistry, and composition of immunostimulatory compounds can be modulated to maximize immune response and mitigate off-target effects, focusing on spherical nucleic acids as a model system. Furthermore, we emphasize how chemistry and materials science are driving the rational design and development of next-generation cancer vaccines. Finally, we identify gaps in the field that should be addressed moving forward and outline future directions to galvanize researchers from multiple disciplines to help realize the full potential of this form of cancer immunotherapy through chemistry and rational vaccinology.(Figure Presented).
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 692-704 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | ACS Central Science |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 22 2022 |
Funding
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Awards R01CA208783 and P50CA221747. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. This material is also based upon work supported by the Polsky Urologic Cancer Institute of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of North-western University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. C.E.C. was supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship, PF-20-046-01-LIB, from the American Cancer Society, as well as the Eden and Steven Romick Postdoctoral Fellowship through the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science. M.E. was supported by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Chemical Engineering
