Abstract—Cancer remains one of the most challenging diseases to treat. Recent advances in immunotherapy and cancer vaccines have shown great potential by harnessing the body’s immune system to generate durable anti-tumor responses. Despite this progress, effective cancer vaccination still faces major hurdles, particularly in achieving efficient antigen delivery and presentation. In this study, Fluorinated Polyethyleneimine (F-PEI) was synthesized through a ring-opening reaction, in which the amino groups of PEI served as nucleophiles to attack a fluorinated epoxide. This reaction grafted fluorinated alkyl chains onto the polymer backbone, yielding F-PEI with preserved amines and newly introduced hydroxyl groups. To translate this material into a nanovaccine platform, F-PEI nanoparticles were subsequently coated with whole tumor cell membranes (M/F-PEI), thereby integrating the broad antigenic repertoire of the source cell with a chemically engineered nanoparticle core optimized for delivery. Comprehensive characterization confirmed successful membrane coating, producing uniform and stable particles of approximately 200 nm in diameter. Cytotoxicity assays indicated good biocompatibility, with cell viability consistently above 80%. Importantly, the fluorous modification substantially enhanced cellular internalization: uptake by antigen-presenting cells was more than doubled compared with membrane vesicles alone. This increased interaction at the nano–bio interface translated into superior antigen cross-presentation and robust cytokine release, with IL-12 and IL-2 secretion exceeding 1200 pg/mL and 1500 pg/mL, respectively, consistent with strong T-cell activation. Together, these findings highlight the M/F-PEI nanovaccine as a highly promising platform for developing effective cancer immunotherapies. 
 

Keywords—cancer nanovaccine, tumor cell membrane, polyethyleneimine, antigen presentation, dendritic cell, immunotherapy

Cite: Bowen Shen, "Tumor Cell Membrane-Encapsulated Polymeric Nanoparticles for Preparation of Biomimetic Cancer Vaccines," International Journal of Pharma Medicine and Biological Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 1-7, 2026.

Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).