Croitoru George-Alexandru, Pîrvulescu Diana-Cristina, Niculescu Adelina-Gabriela, Epistatu Dragoș, Rădulescu Marius, Grumezescu Alexandru Mihai, Nicolae Carmen-Larisa
Faculty of Dental Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroii Sanitari Street, 050474 Bucharest, Romania.
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
J Funct Biomater. 2024 Aug 14;15(8):225. doi: 10.3390/jfb15080225.
The intersection of immunology and nanotechnology has provided significant advancements in biomedical research and clinical applications over the years. Immunology aims to understand the immune system's defense mechanisms against pathogens. Nanotechnology has demonstrated its potential to manipulate immune responses, as nanomaterials' properties can be modified for the desired application. Research has shown that nanomaterials can be applied in diagnostics, therapy, and vaccine development. In diagnostics, nanomaterials can be used for biosensor development, accurately detecting biomarkers even at very low concentrations. Therapeutically, nanomaterials can act as efficient carriers for delivering drugs, antigens, or genetic material directly to targeted cells or tissues. This targeted delivery improves therapeutic efficacy and reduces the adverse effects on healthy cells and tissues. In vaccine development, nanoparticles can improve vaccine durability and extend immune responses by effectively delivering adjuvants and antigens to immune cells. Despite these advancements, challenges regarding the safety, biocompatibility, and scalability of nanomaterials for clinical applications are still present. This review will cover the fundamental interactions between nanomaterials and the immune system, their potential applications in immunology, and their safety and biocompatibility concerns.
多年来，免疫学与纳米技术的交叉融合为生物医学研究和临床应用带来了重大进展。免疫学旨在了解免疫系统对抗病原体的防御机制。纳米技术已展现出其操控免疫反应的潜力，因为纳米材料的特性可针对所需应用进行修改。研究表明，纳米材料可应用于诊断、治疗和疫苗开发。在诊断方面，纳米材料可用于生物传感器开发，即使在极低浓度下也能准确检测生物标志物。在治疗方面，纳米材料可作为高效载体，将药物、抗原或遗传物质直接递送至靶向细胞或组织。这种靶向递送提高了治疗效果，并减少了对健康细胞和组织的不良影响。在疫苗开发中，纳米颗粒可通过有效地将佐剂和抗原递送至免疫细胞来提高疫苗的持久性并延长免疫反应。尽管取得了这些进展，但纳米材料在临床应用中的安全性、生物相容性和可扩展性方面的挑战仍然存在。本综述将涵盖纳米材料与免疫系统之间的基本相互作用、它们在免疫学中的潜在应用以及它们的安全性和生物相容性问题。
