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Updated: Jun 28, 2025
Cellular Affinity of Particle-Stabilized Emulsion to Boost Antigen Internalization
Published on: September 2, 2022
Nucleation-Inhibited Emulsion Interfacial Assembled Polydopamine Microvesicles as Artificial Antigen-Presenting Cells
Lingkai Dong1, Minchao Liu1, Meng Fang2
1School of Chemistry and Materials, Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (2011-iChEM), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, P. R. China.
Researchers developed a novel microemulsion method to create polydopamine microvesicles (PDA MVs). These cell-like structures show enhanced T-cell activation, proving effective as artificial antigen-presenting cells.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Microemulsion systems are effective for fabricating nano/microstructures, but controlling fabrication is hindered by a lack of understanding of emulsion-interfacial assembly.
- Conventional methods rely on interfacial nucleation, limiting the precise control over structure formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a nucleation-inhibited microemulsion interfacial assembly method for synthesizing polydopamine microvesicles (PDA MVs).
- To evaluate the capacity of PDA MVs as artificial antigen-presenting cells (APCs) by modifying their surface with antibodies.
- To compare the T-cell activation efficacy of PDA MVs with conventional solid nanoparticles.
Main Methods:
- A nucleation-inhibited microemulsion interfacial assembly method was employed for PDA MV synthesis.
- Polydopamine microvesicles (PDA MVs) with a diameter of approximately 1 µm and pliable, cell-like morphology were fabricated.
- Antibodies were conjugated to the PDA MV surface to assess their function as artificial APCs.
Main Results:
- PDA MVs demonstrated enhanced T-cell activation compared to solid nanoparticles.
- A 1.5-fold increase in CD25 expression was observed after 1 day.
- A threefold surge in PD-1 positivity was recorded after 7 days, indicating potent immune response.
Conclusions:
- The study elucidates the critical role of nucleation and interfacial assembly in microemulsion polymerization.
- A direct synthesis method for microvesicles (MVs) was established.
- The findings substantiate the effectiveness of PDA MVs as artificial antigen-presenting cells for enhanced T-cell activation.
