{
  "abstract": "Conventional whole tumor cell cancer vaccines have demonstrated limited clinical success due to insufficient immunogenicity and challenges in adjuvant codelivery, despite their rich antigen repertoire and high patient-specific activity. Here, we introduce a simple, single-step approach to load immunostimulatory CpG oligodeoxynucleotides into tumor cells undergoing immunogenic cell death using an ionic liquid–containing cocktail. Results indicate that these adjuvant-loaded tumor cells (referred to as IL-Vax) enhance the uptake of cell-based vaccines by dendritic cells and their subsequent activation, leading to potent antitumor immunity. IL-Vax offered strong protection against tumor growth in a prophylactic B16F10 melanoma mouse model. Furthermore, IL-Vax synergized with PD-1 blockade to slow tumor growth and extend survival in a therapeutic model. The modularity of IL-Vax enables the loading of different cargos or cargo combinations, which may be conducive for additional tailoring of such vaccines and potentially other cell loading applications.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Allston, MA 02134",
    "Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02215"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Danika Rodrigues",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8648-5472"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Malini Mukherji",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-1318-0872"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kyung Soo Park",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1339-5673"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Maithili Joshi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Litsa Kapsalis",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0377-8224"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Suyog Shaha",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5440-2713"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Michael Griffith Bibbey",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-9449-5384"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Metecan Erdi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Samir Mitragotri",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2459-8305"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bhfww3e0pcx3v.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2604066123",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13732214/",
  "id": "bhfww3e0pcx3v",
  "issns": [
    "0027-8424",
    "1091-6490"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2604066123",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "416"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Engineering"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Physical Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Sdg-3-Good-Health-and-Well-Being"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2403|Immunotherapy and Immune Responses"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224137643",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13732214",
  "pmid": "42949972",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "National Academy of Sciences",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bhfww3e0pcx3v.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:22:14Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13732214",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2604066123"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2403|Immunotherapy and Immune Responses",
      "subfield": "immunology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Ionic liquid–mediated cellular loading for whole tumor cell vaccines",
  "title_text": "Ionic liquid–mediated cellular loading for whole tumor cell vaccines",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:22:14Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bhfww3e0pcx3v",
  "venue": "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
  "versions": []
}