--- title: MIT engineers create nanoparticles for delivering... description: MIT researchers built a cancer vaccine using a modified, harmless bacteriophage called M13 as a nanoscale delivery particle. The phage forms a nanofiber coated... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/mit-engineers-create-nanoparticles-for-delivering-personalized-cancer-vaccines-qcjhxqx88 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: MIT engineers create nanoparticles for delivering personalized cancer vaccines | daily.dev og:description: MIT researchers built a cancer vaccine using a modified, harmless bacteriophage called M13 as a nanoscale delivery particle. The phage forms a nanofiber coated... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/mit-engineers-create-nanoparticles-for-delivering-personalized-cancer-vaccines-qcjhxqx88 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/QcJhxqX88.png og:image:alt: MIT engineers create nanoparticles for delivering personalized cancer vaccines og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # MIT engineers create nanoparticles for delivering personalized cancer vaccines **[MIT News](https://daily.dev/sources/mit)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary MIT researchers built a cancer vaccine using a modified, harmless bacteriophage called M13 as a nanoscale delivery particle. The phage forms a nanofiber coated with cancer antigens, and controlling the density of those antigens can be fine-tuned. A vaccine with 35 percent antigen density was the most protective of the two tested in mice, which were much less likely to develop tumors when later exposed to melanoma cells expressing the SIINFEKL antigen. The M13 phage can also act as an adjuvant itself because its single-stranded DNA activates the TLR9 pathway. The platform is modular, so antigens could be swapped to target different patients' tumors. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How does antigen density on the M13 bacteriophage affect cancer vaccine effectiveness in mice? Higher antigen density produces stronger protection. MIT researchers tested M13 phage-based vaccines with 6 percent and 35 percent density of the SIINFEKL antigen, and the 35 percent version was most protective, generating more T cells targeting the antigen and reducing tumor development in mice exposed to melanoma cells expressing it. _Those tracking nanomedicine and immunotherapy research can follow developments like this on daily.dev._ ### Can a bacteriophage act as its own vaccine adjuvant without adding aluminum hydroxide? Yes, the M13 bacteriophage can serve as its own adjuvant because its single-stranded DNA activates the TLR9 pathway, part of the body's innate immune system. This removes the need to pair the vaccine with a separate adjuvant like aluminum hydroxide, since the adjuvant effect is genetically encoded into the phage itself. _Readers following biotech and immunology breakthroughs can keep up with such findings on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [A new approach to cancer vaccination yields more powerful T cells](https://daily.dev/posts/a-new-approach-to-cancer-vaccination-yields-more-powerful-t-cells-cpohvm6nf) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Amping up T cells to target cancer](https://daily.dev/posts/amping-up-t-cells-to-target-cancer-9kzgfcilx) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Injectable nanodevices could provide effective treatment for drug-resistant glioblastoma](https://daily.dev/posts/injectable-nanodevices-could-provide-effective-treatment-for-drug-resistant-glioblastoma-yho8iezix) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Researchers develop modular nanorobot](https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-develop-modular-nanorobot-jodudiywa) · Robohub · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#mit](https://daily.dev/tags/mit), [#nanotechnology](https://daily.dev/tags/nanotechnology) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/mit-engineers-create-nanoparticles-for-delivering-personalized-cancer-vaccines-qcjhxqx88) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"MIT engineers create nanoparticles for delivering personalized cancer vaccines","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/mit-engineers-create-nanoparticles-for-delivering-personalized-cancer-vaccines-qcjhxqx88","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/mit-engineers-create-nanoparticles-for-delivering-personalized-cancer-vaccines-qcjhxqx88"},"datePublished":"2026-10-30T04:35:13.266Z","dateModified":"2026-10-30T04:35:39.477Z","description":"MIT researchers built a cancer vaccine using a modified, harmless bacteriophage called M13 as a nanoscale delivery particle. 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MIT researchers tested M13 phage-based vaccines with 6 percent and 35 percent density of the SIINFEKL antigen, and the 35 percent version was most protective, generating more T cells targeting the antigen and reducing tumor development in mice exposed to melanoma cells expressing it. Those tracking nanomedicine and immunotherapy research can follow developments like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Can a bacteriophage act as its own vaccine adjuvant without adding aluminum hydroxide?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, the M13 bacteriophage can serve as its own adjuvant because its single-stranded DNA activates the TLR9 pathway, part of the body's innate immune system. This removes the need to pair the vaccine with a separate adjuvant like aluminum hydroxide, since the adjuvant effect is genetically encoded into the phage itself. Readers following biotech and immunology breakthroughs can keep up with such findings on daily.dev."}}]} ```