Recent Advances of Mesoporous Silica as a Platform for Cancer Immunotherapy

• Published in: Biosensors (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 2; p. 109
• Main Authors: Yu, Albert, Dai, Xiaoyong, Wang, Zixian, Chen, Huaqing, Guo, Bing, Huang, Laiqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 10.02.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Antigen (tumor-associated); Antigen-presenting cells; Antigens; Biocompatibility; Biodistribution; Cancer; Cancer immunotherapy; Cancer vaccines; Cancer Vaccines - immunology; Cancer Vaccines - therapeutic use; Chemotherapy; drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Humans; Immune checkpoint; Immune response; Immune system; Immunosuppression; Immunotherapy; Laboratories; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; mesoporous silica nanoparticles; Morphology; nanomaterial; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Particle size; Pore size; Porosity; Review; Silica; Silicon Dioxide; Surfactants; Tumors; Vaccines; mesoporous silica nanoparticles; nanomaterial; cancer; drug delivery; immunotherapy
• ISSN: 2079-6374; 2079-6374
• DOI: 10.3390/bios12020109

Immunotherapy is a promising modality of treatment for cancer. Immunotherapy is comprised of systemic and local treatments that induce an immune response, allowing the body to fight back against cancer. Systemic treatments such as cancer vaccines harness antigen presenting cells (APCs) to activate T cells with tumor-associated antigens. Small molecule inhibitors can be employed to inhibit immune checkpoints, disrupting tumor immunosuppression and immune evasion. Despite the current efficacy of immunotherapy, improvements to delivery can be made. Nanomaterials such as mesoporous silica can facilitate the advancement of immunotherapy. Mesoporous silica has high porosity, decent biocompatibility, and simple surface functionalization. Mesoporous silica can be utilized as a versatile carrier of various immunotherapeutic agents. This review gives an introduction on mesoporous silica as a nanomaterial, briefly covering synthesis and biocompatibility, and then an overview of the recent progress made in the application of mesoporous silica to cancer immunotherapy.