Cancer Immunotherapy Using Bioengineered Micro/Nano Structured Hydrogels

Abstract

Hydrogels, a class of materials with a three‐dimensional network structure, are widely used in various applications of therapeutic delivery, particularly cancer therapy. Micro and nanogels as a miniaturized structure of the bioengineered hydrogels could provide extensive benefits over the common hydrogels in encapsulation and controlled release of small molecular drugs, macromolecular therapeutics, and even cells. Cancer immunotherapy is rapidly developing, and micro/nanostructured hydrogels have gained wide attention regarding their engineered payload release properties that enhance systemic anticancer immunity. Additionally, they are a great candidate due to their local administration properties with the focus on local immune cells manipulation in favor of active and passive immunotherapies. Although applied locally, such micro/nanostructured can also activate systemic antitumor immune responses by releasing nanovaccines safely and effectively inhibiting tumor metastasis and recurrence. However, such hydrogels are mostly used as local administered carriers to stimulate the immune cells by releasing tumor lysate, drugs, or nanovaccines. In this review, we summarize the latest developments in cancer immunotherapy using micro/nanostructured hydrogels with a particular emphasis on their function depending on the administration route. Moreover, the potential for clinical translation of these hydrogel‐based cancer immunotherapies is also discussed.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Porous Hydrogels for Immunomodulatory Applications

“…Hydrogels with a sufficient pore size show promise for overcoming some of the current limitations of conventional hydrogels on cell behavior [17]. At present, most studies have focused on the effects of porous hydrogels on the host immune response [18][19][20]. Few reports have described how the porous structure of hydrogels affects the immune response in cancer therapy or tissue regeneration.…”