Synthesis of Multifunctional Nanoparticles for the Combination of Photodynamic Therapy and Immunotherapy.

Programmed death-ligand 1 protein (PD-L1) has been posited to have a major role in suppressing the immune system during pregnancy, tissue allografts, autoimmune disease and other diseases, such as hepatitis. Photodynamic therapy uses light and a photosensitizer to generate singlet oxygen, which causes cell death (phototoxicity). In this work, photosensitizers (such as merocyanine) were immobilized on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles.

Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Magnetic PD-1 Peptide-Imprinted Polymer Nanocomposite and Natural Killer Cells.

Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) is a biomarker on the surface of cells with a role in promoting self-tolerance by suppressing the inflammatory activity of T cells. In this work, one peptide of PD-1 was used as the template for molecular imprinting to form magnetic peptide-imprinted poly(ethylene--vinyl alcohol) composite nanoparticles (MPIP NPs). The nanoparticles were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) analysis.