Preservation of growth factor sensitivity and bioactivity (e.g., bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2)) post-immobilization to tissue engineering scaffolds remains a great challenge. Here, we develop a stable and soft surface modification strategy to address this issue. BMP-2 (a model growth factor) is covalently immobilized onto homogeneous poly (glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) polymer brushes which are grafted onto substrate surfaces (Au, quartz glass, silica wafer, or common biomaterials) via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. This surface modification method multiplies the functionalized interfacial area; it is simple, fast, gentle, and has little effect on the loaded protein owing to the cilia motility. The immobilized BMP-2 (i-BMP-2) on the surface of homogeneous PGMA polymer brushes exhibits excellent bioactivity (⁓87% bioactivity of free BMP-2 in vitro and 20%-50% higher than scaffolds with free BMP-2 in vivo), with conformation and secondary structure well-preserved after covalent immobilization and ethanol sterilization. Moreover, the osteogenic activity of i-BMP-2 on the nanoline pattern (PGMA-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)) shows ⁓110% bioactivity of free BMP-2. This is superior compared to conventional protein covalent immobilization strategies in terms of both bioactivity preservation and therapeutic efficacy. PGMA polymer brushes can be used to modify surfaces of different tissue-engineered scaffolds, which facilitates in situ immobilization of growth factors, and accelerates repair of a wide range of tissue types.

The clinical outcomes of cancer nanovaccine have been largely impeded owing to the low antigen-specific T cell response rate and acquired resistance caused by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we reported a tumor acidity-responsive nanovaccine to remodel the immunosuppressive TME and expand the recruitment of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) using hybrid micelles (HM), which encapsulated colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1-R) inhibitor BLZ-945 and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitor NLG-919 in its core and displayed a model antigen ovalbumin (OVA) on its surface (denoted as BN@HM-OVA). The bioactive nanovaccine is coated with a polyethylene glycol (PEG) shell for extending nanoparticle circulation. The shell can be shed in response to the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment. The decrease in size and the increase in positive charge may cause the deep tumor penetration of drugs. We demonstrated that the bioactive nanovaccine dramatically enhance antigen presentation by dendritic cells (DCs) and drugs transportation into M1-like tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and tumor cells via size reduction and increasing positive charge caused by the weakly acidic TME. Such bioactive nanovaccine could remodel the immunosuppressive TME into an effector T cells favorable environment, leading to tumor growth inhibition in prophylactic and therapeutic E.G7-OVA tumor models. Furthermore, combining the bioactive nanovaccine with simultaneous anti-PD-1 antibody treatment leads to a long-term tumor inhibition, based on the optimal timing and sequence of PD-1 blockade against T cell receptor. This research provides a new strategy for the development of efficient cancer immunotherapy.