Advances in engineered nanosystems: immunomodulatory interactions for therapeutic applications

• Published in: Nanoscale 2024-07, Vol.16 (27), p.1282-12856
• Main Authors: Khatua, Rupam, Bhar, Bibrita, Dey, Souradeep, Jaiswal, Chitra, J, Victoria, Mandal, Biman B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjuvants; Immune system; Lymphocytes; Macrophages; Nanoparticles; Pharmacology; Side effects; Surface charge
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/d4nr00680a

Advances in nanotechnology have led to significant progress in the design and fabrication of nanoparticles (NPs) with improved therapeutic properties. NPs have been explored for modulating the immune system, serving as carriers for drug delivery or vaccine adjuvants, or acting as therapeutics themselves against a wide range of deadly diseases. The combination of NPs with immune system-targeting moieties has facilitated the development of improved targeted immune therapies. Targeted delivery of therapeutic agents using NPs specifically to the disease-affected cells, distinguishing them from other host cells, offers the major advantage of concentrating the therapeutic effect and reducing systemic side effects. Furthermore, the properties of NPs, including size, shape, surface charge, and surface modifications, influence their interactions with the targeted biological components. This review aims to provide insights into these diverse emerging and innovative approaches that are being developed and utilized for modulating the immune system using NPs. We reviewed various types of NPs composed of different materials and their specific application for modulating the immune system. Furthermore, we focused on the mechanistic effects of these therapeutic NPs on primary immune components, including T cells, B cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, and complement systems. Additionally, a recent overview of clinically approved immunomodulatory nanomedicines and potential future perspectives, offering new paradigms of this field, is also highlighted. This review extensively explores immunomodulatory nanomedicines, focusing on their unique properties and critical design strategies for interacting with immune components for various therapeutic applications.