Circulatory-cell-mediated nanotherapeutic approaches in disease targeting

Abstract

Circulating blood cells, and cell-derived microvesicles, are emerging as pragmatic delivery systems that can smartly complement the already existing nanotherapeutic platforms evaluated to treat or diagnose diseases. The valuable distinctive features of circulatory cells over synthetic nanocarriers encompass their biological origin which confers immune transparence, known biodegradability, high drug loading, relatively long half-life and a targeting capacity associated with their physiological surface functionality. Absence of nuclei in red blood cells and platelets provides further rationale for their use as cargo vehicles for nucleotoxic agents. Ongoing developments in cell-based and cell-inspired nanotherapies can move drug delivery into reachable frontiers and exhibit high potentiality for translatability into clinical use.