Injectable 3-D vaccines could fight cancer and infectious diseases

A non-surgical injection of programmable biomaterial that spontaneously assembles in vivo into a 3-D structure could fight and even help prevent cancer and also infectious disease such as HIV, scientists have demonstrated. Tiny biodegradable rod-like structures made from silica, known as mesoporous silica rods (MSRs), can be loaded with biological and chemical drug components and then delivered by needle just underneath the skin. The 3-D scaffold effectively recruits and activates the dendritic cells to trigger an immune response against specific cells, such as cancerous cells. One of the reasons cancer is so deadly is that it can evade attack from the body’s immune system, which allows tumors to flourish and spread. Once the 3D scaffold has recruited dendritic cells from the body, the drugs contained in the MSRs are released, which trips their surveillance trigger and initiates an immune response. The activated dendritic cells leave the scaffold and travel to the lymph nodes, where they raise alarm and direct the body’s immune system to attack specific cells, such as cancerous cells. At the site of the injection, the MSRs biodegrade and dissolve naturally within a few months. Injectable immunotherapies that use programmable biomaterials as a powerful vehicle to deliver targeted treatment and preventative care.