Luke Buendia
Research Mentor: meijuan lin
Mentor Department: bioengineering, Engineering
Author(s): Not Available
Session: Session 1 (9:00 AM – 9:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 79
Abstract
Biodegradable polymer nanoparticles (NPs) have recently attracted attention due to their clinically proven biocompatibility. As biomaterials are increasingly used to modulate the immune system, it is important to understand their inert immunogenicity to design systems that either activate or suppress immune responses. In this study, we fabricate particles with different components, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly (lactic acid) (PLA) particles, without any encapsulated bioactive, to be examined with respect to their interactions with Raw264.7 macrophages and further in vitro inflammatory cytokine production by quantitative PCR measurement and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These particles are of the same size with negative charge but consist of different components. Although data collection is ongoing, current results show that the particles displayed polymer composition-dependent immunomodulatory properties, including downregulation of TLR4 induced cytokines secretion. These findings indicate that nanoparticle material composition alone may contribute to immune modulation. Future studies will further investigate these effects in primary bone-marrow-derived macrophages to better understand the mechanisms underlying polymer-dependent immune responses. Additionally, in vivo mouse models may provide a more physiologically relevant system for evaluating nanoparticle-mediated immunomodulation.
