<br/>The cellular and chemical environment within tumors, the so-called tumor microenvironment, plays a central role in the ability of tumors to proliferate and evade immune surveillance. In recent years, medicinal efforts to alert the immune system to the presence of metastatic cancer have led to many new approaches stemming from the development of new small molecule-based drugs, to biological molecules and systems. However, since the systemic administration of these compounds can cause nonspecific immune activation and therefore toxicity, attempts have been made that aimed at the selective delivery and prolonged retention of these therapeutics to desired target tissues. With the aim of reengineering the tumor microenvironment and supporting the immune system in a safe and selective manner, we have developed a homing block copolymer-based particle that targets enzymes that are upregulated in several types of tumors. Upon accumulation into the tumor microenvironment, these immunotherapeutic-loaded nanoparticles undergo a morphological transition from nanoscale spherical-shaped, discrete materials to scaffold like, micron scale assemblies. These newly formed immunotherapeutic depots have the potential to awaken the immune system to attack not only the tumor tissue located both at the main, or primary site of the disease, but also tumor tissue that has metastasized.

Enzyme-Directed Assembly of Particle Immunotherapeutics (EDAPI): A strategy for engineering tumor microenvironments for cancer therapy

2019 Spring National Meeting

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