Fig. 1

Biomaterial-based scaffold application in DC recruitment and programming for enhanced antitumor activity. A subcutaneously implanted or injected biocompatible polymer scaffold is designed to include and release, in a controlled way, a DC chemotactic agent, an adjuvant, and a source of tumor antigens. The loaded chemoattractant, e.g., GM-CSF, recruits immature dendritic cells (iDCs) into the macroporous matrix where they are exposed to adjuvants and tumor antigens. Mature antigen-loaded DCs (matured DCs) then migrate out of the scaffold to the lymph nodes, presenting processed antigens to T-cells, and boosting antitumor immunity that way