Nanomaterials: Immunological Perspective

Immune system responses to xenobiotics, including nanomaterials, can be unpredictable and multifaceted as it is mediated by a complex network of immune cells, cytokines, antibodies, and complement proteins. Understanding how this vital system responds to nanomaterials is thus of utmost importance to provide better nanotechnological strategies for the treatment of immunological disorders, developing novel vaccine systems, cancer immune therapy, and for minimizing undesirable immunogenicity. This will guide nanomaterials engineers to develop next-generation systems with good nanosafety and controlled immunogenicity that can be tailored to meet the intended clinical needs.

Nanomaterials provide a versatile and tuneable platform that can potentially be used to manipulate immune responses by molecular design. Additionally, whether bioinspired nanomaterials can be designed to evade the immune system by learning lessons from pathogen strategies remains a challenge for developing safe nanomedicines. Although the interaction of nanomaterials with the immune system has potential threats, it represents a very promising exploitation strategy if well understood.

This Special Issue aims to capture the current knowledge in this area through reviews and original research articles, to provide critical dialogue in the field of nanomaterials safety and immunological applications. Contributions to this issue may focus on nanomedicine, nanosafety, and immunology in the academic, industrial, and clinical arena.