Biomimetic erythrocytes engineered drug delivery for cancer therapy

Abstract

Cancer is a significant cause of high mortality, while the adverse reactions caused by traditional chemotherapy inevitably further increase the mortality rate. Although synthetic nanocarriers (NCs) have been applied for cancer treatment, the exogenous particles are usually removed rapidly by the reticuloendothelial system (RES). Taking inspiration from nature, a “camouflage” with red blood cell membranes (RBCMs) makes biomimetic NCs a new research hotspot that attracts more and more researchers’ attention. Using this bionic method, the NCs achieve “stealthy effects” in vivo by separating the particle from the surrounding environment by the RBCMs, thus avoiding the identification of macrophages to acquire a longer half-life time of particles in the blood vessel. Here, we only focus on studying biomimetic drug delivery systems based on engineered erythrocytes. The live erythrocyte, nanoscale vesicles of RBCMs, and NCs coated with RBCMs or hybrid membrane, including RBCMs engineering and preparation, drug loading, escape mechanisms, and core–shell structure, have been discussed. The biomimetic strategies of nanoparticles coating with RBCMs in tumor therapy have been further highlighted.