Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Fabrication of Anisotropic Polymeric Artificial Antigen Presenting Cells for CD8+ T Cell Activation
Published on: October 12, 2018
Nanoengineering approaches to the design of artificial antigen-presenting cells
Joel C Sunshine1, Jordan J Green
1Department of Biomedical Engineering & the Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
Abstract:
Artificial antigen-presenting cells (aAPCs) have shown great initial promise for ex vivo activation of cytotoxic T cells. The development of aAPCs has focused mainly on the choice of proteins to use for surface presentation to T cells when conjugated to various spherical, microscale particles. We review here biomimetic nanoengineering approaches that have been applied to the development of aAPCs that move beyond initial concepts about aAPC development. This article also discusses key technologies that may be enabling for the development of nano- and micro-scale aAPCs with nanoscale features, and suggests several future directions for the field.
Related Concept Videos
Antigen Presenting Cells
T cells require the help of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which process foreign antigens into smaller fragments that can be recognized by T cells. These APCs are highly specialized cells that efficiently internalize antigens...
Antigen Processing Pathways
MHC Class I: Presenting Endogenous...
Antigens Involved in Adaptive Immunity
Complete Antigens
Complete antigens possess both immunogenicity and reactivity.

