Magnetic systems for cancer immunotherapy

Abstract

Immunotherapy is a rapidly developing area of cancer treatment due to its higher specificity and potential for greater efficacy than traditional therapies. Immune cell modulation through the administration of drugs, proteins, and cells can enhance antitumoral responses through pathways that may be otherwise inhibited in the presence of immunosuppressive tumors. Magnetic systems offer several advantages for improving the performance of immunotherapies, including increased spatiotemporal control over transport, release, and dosing of immunomodulatory drugs within the body, resulting in reduced off-target effects and improved efficacy. Compared to alternative methods for stimulating drug release such as light and pH, magnetic systems enable several distinct methods for programming immune responses. First, we discuss how magnetic hyperthermia can stimulate immune cells and trigger thermoresponsive drug release. Second, we summarize how magnetically targeted delivery of drug carriers can increase the accumulation of drugs in target sites. Third, we review how biomaterials can undergo magnetically driven structural changes to enable remote release of encapsulated drugs. Fourth, we describe the use of magnetic particles for targeted interactions with cellular receptors for promoting antitumor activity. Finally, we discuss translational considerations of these systems, such as toxicity, clinical compatibility, and future opportunities for improving cancer treatment.

Magnetic Guiding with Permanent Magnets: Concept, Realization and Applications to Nanoparticles and Cells

“…If exceeded, the magnetic material will alter its magnetization like in the initial polarization process (to some extent, this is discussed in Appendix B and in [28,29]). However, this process is ignored and a simple guiding system made from one Halbach quadrupole (R i = r 1 , R o = r 2 ) surrounded by a Halbach dipole (R i = r 2 , R o = r 3 ) is straightforwardly calculated from Equation (9). Then the field strength, B D , of an ideal Halbach-dipole and the gradient strength, G Q , of a quadrupole are given by Equation ( 9) and combined with Equation ( 7)…”

“…There are numerous reviews on the subject because this research area is very diverse and the problem has been tackled from different directions. The following reviews on magnetically guided medical devices [1][2][3]; miniature robots [4]; nanoparticles in microfluidics and nanomechanics [5] for drug delivery [6][7][8], hyperthermia, and alternative local magnetic therapeutic effects [9,10]; tissue engineering [11][12][13]; as well as magnet systems for this purpose [14] are some of the most recent (or a book [15] treating most of these topics). There are many more applications of magnets in biomedicine, e.g., permanent magnets are also used for the separation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles from solution.…”

Cooperative coordination-mediated multi-component self-assembly of “all-in-one” nanospike theranostic nano-platform for MRI-guided synergistic therapy against breast cancer

“…With the enormous progress in nanomedicine-mediated cancer therapy, various therapeutic methods have been exploited in breast cancer treatment. As a non-invasive and spatiotemporally controlled therapeutic strategy, photothermal therapy (PTT) has been extensively used in breast cancer treatment via light-converting agent-mediated localized photothermal tumor ablation under the stimulation of near-infrared (NIR) laser 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 . PTT has demonstrated a significant combinational effect with chemotherapy, chemodynamic therapy (CDT), or immunotherapy, representing an adaptable avenue to overcome the limitation of monotherapy 3 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 .…”

Inducing immunogenic cell death in immuno-oncological therapies

“…Fortunately, ICD inducers can enhance the immunogenicity of dead cells through the production of neoantigens as well as by eliciting damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and cytokines to recruit and activate antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and effector CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes ( 13 ). Through the release of antigenic and adjuvant factors, ICD expresses its immunomodulatory capacities and amends tumor microenvironment (TME) with a “cold-warm-hot” immune status, thereby improving T cell priming and ultimately facilitating T cell-mediated attack of the residual CCs ( 14 , 15 ). Recently, ICD has been recognized as a new and critical pharmacological strategy to improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment and relieve the suffering of cancer patients.…”