title: Nanoparticle-Based Modulation of the Immune System.
abstract: The immune system is an incredibly complex biological network that plays a significant role in almost all disease pathogenesis. With an increased understanding of how this vital system operates, there has been a great emphasis on leveraging, manipulating, and/or supplementing endogenous immunity to better prevent or treat different disease states. More recently, the advent of nanotechnology has ushered in a plethora of new nanoparticle-based platforms that can be used to improve existing immunomodulation modalities. As the ability to engineer at the nanoscale becomes increasingly sophisticated, nanoparticles can be finely tuned to effect the desired immune responses, leading to exciting new avenues for addressing pressing issues in public health. In this review, we give an overview of the different areas in which nanoparticle technology has been applied toward modulating the immune system and highlight the recent advances within each.
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093; email: zhang@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Ronnie H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093; email: zhang@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Liangfang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D000941:Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D016207:Cytokines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000378:metabolism*; D050997:Nanomedicine; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014612:Vaccines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D016207:Cytokines; D004337:Drug Carriers; D014612:Vaccines
keywords: artificial antigen presentation; biomimetic nanotechnology; immunoengineering; immunomodulation; nanomedicine; vaccine