Nanoengineered coordination polymers boost cancer immunotherapy

From being questioned by most scientists to taking center stage in mainstream cancer treatment, cancer immunotherapy has gone through more than a century. The past decade has witnessed great strides in cancer immunotherapy with unprecedented tumor remission and inspiring clinical achievements. However, the limited clinical response rate of generally 10–40% and the high therapeutic cost are existing problems to be solved in cancer immunotherapy. Nanotechnology and nanomaterials provide a promising strategy for improving the efficacy and saving costs of cancer immunotherapy. Among them, nanoengineered coordination polymers materials, constructed from metal ions/clusters and organic ligands, have shown great potential due to their easy synthesis, tunable composition and structure, and diverse functions. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the state-of-the art research on the application of nanoengineered coordination polymers in cancer immunotherapy. First, development history, basic concepts, and main types of cancer immunotherapy are briefly introduced. Next, the characteristics of nanoengineered coordination polymers, their interactions with immune-related biomolecules, and their biosafety and biodegradation properties are comprehensively described. Most importantly, the applications of nanoengineered coordination polymers in immune-related payload protection, immune regulation, and especially cancer immunotherapy are systematically summarized. Finally, the prospects of nanoengineered coordination polymers in cancer immunotherapy are discussed.