Cancer is a leading cause of death and traditional treatment options for cancer patients are prone to causing severe side effects. Recently, immunotherapy – i.e. harnessing the patients own immune system at combatting cancer - has received major attention. In particular targeting tumours with antibody-based strategies has become increasingly popular. However, this class of therapeutics suffers for exuberant production costs and is prone to inflammatory immune reaction from the host patient. In this project we will develop synthetic polymer-based nanoparticles that recruit endogenous antibodies (i.e. antibodies present in the bloodstream of every individual) to solid tumours to exert subsequent cancer cell killing effects. Utilizing well-defined polymers, self-assembly and efficient ligation chemistry, we will engineer these antibody-recruiting nanoparticles (ARNPs) in such a way that they disassemble after internalization by cancer cells into soluble polymers that contain multiple motifs of a compound that binds to endogenous antibodies through multivalent interaction. Moreover, the polymers also contain a motif that promotes prolonged cell surface expression of these polymers. In other words, upon intracellular unfolding the ARNPs transform into synthetic cell surface receptors that mark cancer cells for recognition and elimination by the immune system.

Engineering anti-cancer immunity using polymeric nanoparticles that transform into synthetic cell surface receptors in response to intracellular pH

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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