Erythrocyte-Inspired Delivery Systems

Herein recent progress in developing red blood cell (RBC)‐inspired delivery systems is reviewed, with an emphasis on how our growing understanding of fundamental biological properties of natural RBCs has been applied in the design and engineering of these delivery systems. Specifically, progress ach...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced healthcare materials 2012-09, Vol.1 (5), p.537-547
Main Authors: Hu, Che-Ming J., Fang, Ronnie H., Zhang, Liangfang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biomedical materials
Biomimetic Materials - therapeutic use
biomimicry
Blood Substitutes - therapeutic use
Carriers
Contrast Media
Delivery systems
Drug Carriers
drug delivery
Drug delivery systems
Erythrocytes
Erythrocytes - chemistry
Erythrocytes - physiology
Humans
long-circulating carriers
Medical
nanoparticles
Nanostructure
Red blood cells
Staining and Labeling - methods
Vehicles
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Summary:Herein recent progress in developing red blood cell (RBC)‐inspired delivery systems is reviewed, with an emphasis on how our growing understanding of fundamental biological properties of natural RBCs has been applied in the design and engineering of these delivery systems. Specifically, progress achieved in developing carrier RBCs, a class of delivery vehicles engineered by directly loading natural RBCs with therapeutic agents, will be reviewed. Then alternative approaches to engineering synthetic vehicles through mimicking the mechanobiological and chemico‐biological properties of natural RBCs will be considered. The synthesis and application of RBC membrane‐derived vesicles, of which the natural RBC membranes are collected and directly utilized to prepare drug carriers, will then be discussed. Finally, a recent approach in engineering RBC membrane‐camouflaged nanoparticle systems that combine advantages of natural RBCs and synthetic biomaterials will be highlighted. These developments indicate that RBC‐inspired delivery systems will result in next‐generation nanomedicine with extensive medical applications. The extraordinary circulation time of red blood cells (RBCs) has driven many to exploit and mimic RBCs for drug delivery. In this progress report, RBC‐inspired delivery platforms, including carrier RBCs and synthetic RBC mimics, are discussed. An emphasis is placed on the emerging techniques that translate the growing understanding of RBC properties toward biomedical applications.
ISSN:2192-2640
2192-2659
DOI:10.1002/adhm.201200138