Bioinspired and Biomimetic Nanomedicines for Targeted Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Undesirable side effects and multidrug resistance are the major obstacles in conventional chemotherapy towards cancers. Nanomedicines provide alternative strategies for tumor-targeted therapy due to their inherent properties, such as nanoscale size and tunable surface features. However, the applications of nanomedicines are hampered in vivo due to intrinsic disadvantages, such as poor abilities to cross biological barriers and unexpected off-target effects. Fortunately, biomimetic nanomedicines are emerging as promising therapeutics to maximize anti-tumor efficacy with minimal adverse effects due to their good biocompatibility and high accumulation abilities. These bioengineered agents incorporate both the physicochemical properties of diverse functional materials and the advantages of biological materials to achieve desired purposes, such as prolonged circulation time, specific targeting of tumor cells, and immune modulation. Among biological materials, mammalian cells (such as red blood cells, macrophages, monocytes, and neutrophils) and pathogens (such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi) are the functional components most often used to confer synthetic nanoparticles with the complex functionalities necessary for effective nano-biointeractions. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the development of bioinspired and biomimetic nanomedicines (such as mammalian cell-based drug delivery systems and pathogen-based nanoparticles) for targeted cancer therapy. We also discuss the biological influences and limitations of synthetic materials on the therapeutic effects and targeted efficacies of various nanomedicines.

Nanomaterials in Medicine: Understanding Cellular Uptake, Localization, and Retention for Enhanced Disease Diagnosis and Therapy

“…Compared with traditional diagnosis and treatment methods of cancer, NMs provide an alternative strategy for t tumor argeted therapy due to their unique physical and chemical properties, such as nanoscale size, large surface-to-volume ratio, adjustable surface characteristics, and the ability to encapsulate various drugs and control drug release [260]. For a long time, in the study of tumor targeted therapy, improving the efficiency of tumor targeting is the key issue and main technical difficulty in the development of high-quality tumor-targeted NMs [261]. Although existing studies have reported the wide application of various NMs in cancer therapy, there are still some limitations that need to be overcome, such as the interaction mechanism between NMs and cells, short blood circulation time, and poor aggregation in target tissues.…”

Advanced Generation Therapeutics: Biomimetic Nanodelivery System for Tumor Immunotherapy

“…Viral nucleocapsid structures can activate the innate immune system through various signaling pathways. For example, the cell surface receptors involved in the recognition of viral proteins (e.g.,TLR2 and TLR4) and nucleic acids (e.g., TLR3, TLR7, TLR8, and TLR9), which confer viral immunity through TLRs . In addition, the virus at 20–500 nm can enter lymph nodes and be captured by innate immune cells to kickstart the immune system, making it ideal for immunotherapy.…”

“…For example, the cell surface receptors involved in the recognition of viral proteins (e.g.,TLR2 and TLR4) and nucleic acids (e.g., TLR3, TLR7, TLR8, and TLR9), which confer viral immunity through TLRs. 140 In addition, the virus at 20−500 nm can enter lymph nodes and be captured by innate immune cells to kickstart the immune system, making it ideal for immunotherapy. However, their application still has room for controversy, such as low biosafety and off-target effects.…”

“…In recent years, nanoparticle drug delivery systems have displayed tremendous potential in cancer immunotherapy. − Especially, with a deeper understanding of the biological process in vivo of drug delivery system and mechanism of tumor immune escape, cell-derived biomimetic nanodelivery systems (BNDS) have been designed to improve the therapeutic potential and decrease adverse reaction . Interestingly, BNDS can ideally overcome the diversiform obstacles due to their biological characteristics.…”

“…10−12 Especially, with a deeper understanding of the biological process in vivo of drug delivery system and mechanism of tumor immune escape, cell-derived biomimetic nanodelivery systems (BNDS) have been designed to improve the therapeutic potential and decrease adverse reaction. 13 Interestingly, BNDS can ideally overcome the diversiform obstacles due to their biological characteristics. For example, (i) specific parental cells can be selected according to different therapeutic needs, endowing BNDS with homologous targeting ability.…”