LAUSR

ABSTRACT The immune system is an awe‐inspiring control structure that maintains a delicate and constantly changing balance between pro‐immune functions that fight infection and cancer, regulatory or suppressive functions involved in immune tolerance, and homeostatic resting states. These activities are determined by integrating signals in space and time; thus, improving control over the densities, combinations, and durations with which immune signals are delivered is a central goal to better combat infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmunity. Self‐assembly presents a unique opportunity to synthesize materials with well‐defined compositions and controlled physical arrangement of molecular building blocks. This review highlights strategies exploiting these capabilities to improve the understanding of how precisely‐displayed cues interact with immune cells and tissues. We present work centered on fundamental properties that regulate the nature and magnitude of immune response, highlight pre‐clinical and clinical applications of self‐assembled technologies in vaccines, cancer, and autoimmunity, and describe some of the key manufacturing and regulatory hurdles facing these areas. Graphical abstract Figure. No Caption available.