Influenza mimetic protein-polymer nanoparticles as antigen delivery vehicles to dendritic cells for cancer immunotherapy.

Stimulation of dendritic cells (DCs) by antigens (Ags) promotes an Ag-specific immune response that kills Ag-expressing pathogens. These biologically inspired nanocarriers have received much attention as tools to deliver cancer Ags to DCs. A polymer-templated protein nanoball having hemagglutinin (H1-NB) that mimics the influenza virus can be used as a cancer Ag delivery vehicle, as DCs show effective phagocytic activities against H1-NB without any adjuvant.

Orientation Controlled Protein Nanocapsules by Enzymatic Removal of a Polymer Template.

Protein nanocapsules are potentially useful as functional nanocarriers because of their hollow structure and high biocompatibility and the intrinsic activity of their protein constituents. However, the development of a facile method for the preparation of oriented nanocapsules that retain their protein activity has been challenging. Here we describe the preparation of protein nanocapsules through the enzymatic removal of polymer templates.