Bioactive mesoporous silica materials-assisted cancer immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is initially envisioned as a powerful approach to train immune cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) and lymphoid tissues to elicit strong anti-tumor responses. However, clinical cancer immunotherapy still faces challenges, such as limited immunogenicity and insufficient immune response. Leveraging the advantages of mesoporous silica (MS) materials in controllable drug and immunomodulator release, recent efforts have focused on engineering MS with intrinsic immunoregulatory functions to promote robust, systemic, and safe anti-tumor responses. This review discusses advances in bioactive MS materials that address the challenges of immunotherapy. Beyond their role in on-demand delivery and drug release in response to the TME, we highlight the intrinsic functions of bioactive MS in orchestrating localized immune responses by inducing immunogenic cell death in tumor cells, modulating immune cell activity, and facilitating tumor-immune cell interactions. Additionally, we emphasize the advantages of bioactive MS in recruiting and activating immune cells within lymphoid tissues to initiate anti-tumor vaccination. The review also covers the challenges of MS-assisted immunotherapy, potential solutions, and future outlooks. With a deeper understanding of material-bio interactions, the rational design of MS with sophisticated bioactivities and controllable responsiveness holds great promise for enhancing the outcomes of personalized immunotherapy.