Strategies in biomimetic surface engineering of nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Abstract

Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) play an increasingly important role in biomedical sciences and in nanomedicine. Yet, in spite of significant advances, it remains difficult to construct drug-loaded NPs with precisely defined therapeutic effects, in terms of release time and spatial targeting. The body is a highly complex system that imposes multiple physiological and cellular barriers to foreign objects. Upon injection in the blood stream or following oral administation, NPs have to bypass numerous barriers prior to reaching their intended target. A particularly successful design strategy consists in masking the NP to the biological environment by covering it with an outer surface mimicking the composition and functionality of the cell's external membrane. This review describes this biomimetic approach. First, we outline key features of the composition and function of the cell membrane. Then, we present recent developments in the fabrication of molecules that mimic biomolecules present on the cell membrane, such as proteins, peptides, and carbohydrates. We present effective strategies to link such bioactive molecules to the NPs surface and we highlight the power of this approach by presenting some exciting examples of biomimetically engineered NPs useful for multimodal diagnostics and for target-specific drug/gene delivery applications. Finally, critical directions for future research and applications of biomimetic NPs are suggested to the readers.

Long circulating micelles of an amphiphilic random copolymer bearing cell outer membrane phosphorylcholine zwitterions

“…The hydrophilic PC groups of the polymer can reorient to the interface in aqueous environment forming a cell outer membrane mimetic structure [38][39][40]. The closely packed zwitterionic PC groups bind hydration water strongly through electrostatic interactions [41] and suppress non-specific protein adsorption and foreign body reactions [42][43][44][45].…”

“…The closely packed zwitterionic PC groups bind hydration water strongly through electrostatic interactions [41] and suppress non-specific protein adsorption and foreign body reactions [42][43][44][45]. This kind of amphiphilic cell membrane mimetic polymers has the ability to form micelles or aggregates bearing cell outer membrane mimetic structure in aqueous solutions [40].…”

Surface Tailoring of Nanoparticles via Mixed‐Charge Monolayers and Their Biomedical Applications

“…The stealth properties of PEGylated NPs are attributed to a combination of various PEG structural features, including charge neutrality, hydrophilicity, chain fl exibility, and capacity for hydration. [ 74 ] However, PEG coating has been pointed out with several disadvantages. For example, it is susceptible to oxidation damage and hence loses its function in biological media in long term applications.…”

Lipid-based surface engineering of PLGA nanoparticles for drug and gene delivery applications

“…Krishnamurthy et al demonstrated that the monocyte-membrane-derived nanoghost-based surface engineering of DOX-loaded PNPs resulted in higher cytotoxicity in MCF-7 breast cancer cells [14, 19, 49]. In addition, the multicompartmental nature of LPHNPs has an advantage, in that multiple therapeutic agents can be incorporated into the different compartments of the NPs [17, 18, 50]. Altogether, LPHNPs have been employed mostly for numerous drug delivery applications.…”