Topic: Smart Nanomaterials for Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy has offered unprecedented opportunities compared to conventional therapeutic approaches. However, the clinical translation of cancer immunotherapy is hindered by non-specificity, inadequate bioavailability, and off-target toxicity. Smart materials that respond to endogenous or exogenous stimuli enable spatiotemporally controlled drug release while activating the cancer-immunity cycle. Such materials are tailored to attain desirable properties and have been extensively explored for synergistically inhibiting tumor growth, metastasis, and recurrence. By tapping the full potential of rationally designed nanomaterials, cancer immunotherapy can be transformed into a safe and effective therapeutic modality.

This special issue aims to bring together the recent advances in nanobiomaterial-based cancer immunotherapy. We invite submission of research and review articles that demonstrate the potential of rationally engineered nanomaterials for improved cancer immunotherapy. Topics of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:

● Nanomaterials to precisely control drug distribution in response to either endogenous or exogenous stimuli and to minimize the non-specific systemic circulation, limited accumulation of drugs, renal clearance, and immune-related side effects;

● The targeted delivery of drugs to tumors of lymph nodes using smart materials;

● Encapsulation of nanomaterials or immunomodulatory agents within hydrogels, scaffolds, and injectable depots for localized cancer immunotherapy;

● Nanobiomaterials for cancer vaccination, immune checkpoint blockade, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, and adoptive cell therapy;

● Intelligent nanomaterials for normalization of immune cells and antitumor immune response;

● Next-generation nanocarriers, such as exosomes and DNA/RNA-based materials;

● Theranostic applications of nanomaterials for monitoring immune responses and imaging;

● The combination therapy to integrate nanomedicine with photoimmunotherapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, etc., for synergistic cancer immunotherapy.

Cancer immunotherapy, stimuli-responsive nanobiomaterials, targeted delivery, cancer vaccination, immune checkpoint blockade, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, combination therapy