Design of erythrocyte-derived carriers for bioimaging applications

Wing-Fu Lai; Dahong Zhang; Wing-Tak Wong

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.07.010

Design of erythrocyte-derived carriers for bioimaging applications

Trends Biotechnol. 2023 Feb;41(2):228-241. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.07.010. Epub 2022 Aug 26.

Authors

Wing-Fu Lai¹, Dahong Zhang², Wing-Tak Wong³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Urology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Zhejiang 310012, China. Electronic address: rori0610@graduate.hku.hk.
² Department of Urology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Zhejiang 310012, China.
³ Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

PMID: 36031485
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.07.010

Abstract

Erythrocytes are physiological entities that have been exploited in both preclinical and clinical trials for the delivery of exogenous agents. Over the years, diverse erythrocyte-derived carriers (ECs) have been developed with related patents granted for industrial and commercial purposes. However, most ECs have only been exploited for drug delivery. Serious discussions regarding their applications in imaging are scarce. This article reviews the role of ECs in enhancing imaging efficiency and subsequently delineates strategies for engineering and optimising their preclinical and clinical performance. With a snapshot of the latest developments and use of ECs in imaging, directions to streamline the clinical translation of related technologies can be attained for future research.

Keywords: biodistribution; blood retention; carriers; diagnosis; erythrocytes; imaging; surface functionalisation.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Diagnostic Imaging
Drug Carriers
Drug Delivery Systems*
Erythrocytes*
Technology

Substances

Drug Carriers