# Development of Rationally Designed Cancer Vaccines Using Protein-like Polymers (PLPs)

> **NIH NIH F30** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $41,661

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The utilization of tumor antigens, which are antigenic peptides expressed in cancer cells as a result of random
somatic mutations, for the development of patient-specific therapeutic cancer vaccines has been an area of
intense interest. However, significant challenges remain in safely and efficiently delivering subunit vaccine
components for the elicitation of robust antitumor immune responses. To overcome these challenges, this
proposal utilizes a new methodology for protecting active peptides from proteolysis for the sustained delivery of
tumor antigens in conjunction with immunomodulatory compounds as rationally designed cancer vaccines. This
approach packages peptides together as high-density brush polymers, which results in the introduction of unique
characteristics with significant advantages over conventional attempts to utilize peptides as therapeutics. These
include increased resistance to proteolysis and improved pharmacokinetic profiles, while maintaining strong
bioactivity and cell uptake. This peptide packaging method is termed Protein-Like Polymers (PLPs) due to its
globular, peptide-based structure assembled around a hydrophobic synthetic polymer core, displaying active
amino acids for recognition and function in a sequence-controlled manner. PLPs are modular in terms of payload,
able to be conjugated with defined proportions of peptides, small molecules, and nucleic acids. Further
modifications of PLPs can confer additional properties including tissue targeting, site-specific cargo release, and
changes in packing density. The PLP nanoplatform demonstrates that compounds arranged in unique 3-
dimensional structures exhibit properties exclusive to that configuration, providing new avenues for biomolecule
delivery. For this proposal, PLPs will be used to overcome inherent difficulties associated with utilizing tumor
antigens as cancer vaccines, namely by preventing their degradation, enabling targeted delivery, and allowing
proportion-defined multivalent display of dissimilar antigens with immunostimulatory compounds.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10152127
- **Project number:** 1F30CA257519-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Max Wang
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $41,661
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10152127

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10152127, Development of Rationally Designed Cancer Vaccines Using Protein-like Polymers (PLPs) (1F30CA257519-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10152127. Licensed CC0.

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