Recently, cell membrane-derived nanoparticles, particularly of RBCs, have been explored for delivery of hydrophilic solutes of varied size and complexities. So far, these naturally derived nanoparticles show a significant overlap with liposomes in terms of stability, solute encapsulation, and release. Unlike hydrophilic molecules, which are loaded inside the aqueous core, hydrophobic moieties largely partition inside the lipophilic shell, hence fate of these nanocarriers may be different. Since vesicles have more complex membrane architecture (due to natural lipids and additional proteins and glycoproteins), ease of loading hydrophobic drug, its release pattern, and overall particle stability cannot be compared to those of synthetic lipid-based carriers. Therefore, we derived nanovesicles (NVEs) from RBC membrane, loaded with hydrophobic drug camptothecin (CPT) and labeled noncovalently with amphiphilic fluorophore (CM-DiI). Although both CPT and CM-DiI are known to partition inside the membrane, the overall stability of NVEs and composition of membrane proteins, particularly CD47, "marker of self", did not change. Additionally, the developed NVEs were found to be nonphagocytic even in the presence of serum and showed minimal stimulation of macrophages to release cytokines. Further, this system showed slow release but strong retention of CPT and CM-DiI, respectively, over 24 h, hence appropriate for theranostic applications. Also, NVEs were internalized by lung carcinoma cells and possessed slightly higher toxicity than free CPT. When injected intravenously in balb/c mice, these nanovesicles showed higher retention in blood over 48 h and insignificant accumulation in vital organs like heart and kidneys, thus suggesting its potential for in vivo application. We believe that this system has superior stealth and comparable physicochemical properties to synthetic lipid-based nanocarriers; hence, it can be further developed as personalized medicine.

An experimental study is performed to quantify the growth of the mixing zone in miscible viscous fingering. Rectilinear flow displacement experiments are performed in a Hele-Shaw cell over a wide range of viscosity ratios (1-1225) by injecting water into glycerol solutions at different flow rates. All the experiments are performed at high Peclet numbers and linear growth in mixing zone is observed. The mixing zone velocity increases with the viscosity ratio up to viscosity ratios of 340 and the trend is consistent with Koval's model. However, at higher viscosity ratios, the mixing velocity plateaus signifying no further effect of viscosity contrast on the growth of mixing zone. The front (fingertip) velocities also increase up to viscosity ratios of 340 above which the velocities plateau. C 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

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Cellular membrane‐derived nanoparticles, particularly of red blood cells (RBCs), represent an emerging class of drug delivery systems. The lack of nucleus and organelles in these cells makes them easy to process and empty out intracellular contents. The empty vesicle membranes can then be either used as a coating on nanoparticles or can be reassembled into a nanovesicle. Engineered RBCs membrane has unique ability to retain its lipid bilayer architecture with host's proteins during top‐down approach, thus allowing it to form stable nanoformulations mimicking RBCs stealth properties. In addition, its core–shell structure allows loading of different drug molecules, and its surface chemistry can be manipulated by facile conjugation with ligands on the shell. The remarkable ability of RBCs membrane to fuse with membranes of other cells enables the formation of hybrid nanovesicles. In this review, we highlight the biomedical applications of such vesicles and discuss the potential challenges related to its clinical translation. Although nano‐RBCs retain much of the host's proteins, which may give an edge over synthetic nanoparticles in terms of lower immunogenicity, its production at industrial level is more challenging. This review gives the critical analysis of barriers involved in the translation of RBCs‐derived nanoparticles from preclinical to clinical level. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Biology‐Inspired Nanomaterials > Lipid‐Based Structures Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Regulatory and Policy Issues in Nanomedicine

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