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Bio-inspired, bioengineered and biomimetic drug delivery carriers
Jin-Wook Yoo*, Darrell J.Irvine||, Dennis E.Discher# and Samir Mitragotri*
Abstract | Synthetic carriers such as polymer and lipid particles often struggle to meet clinical expectations. Natural particulates that range from pathogens to mammalian cells are therefore worth examining in more depth, as they are highly optimized for their specific functions invivo and possess features that are often desired in drug delivery carriers. With a better understanding of these biological systems, in conjunction with the availability of advanced biotechnology tools that are useful for re-engineering the various natural systems, researchers have started to exploit natural particulates for multiple applications in the delivery of proteins, small interfering RNA and other therapeutic agents. Here, we review the natural drug delivery carriers that have provided the basis and inspiration for new drug delivery systems.
*Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
College of Pharmacy, Chosun University, Gwangju 501759, South Korea.
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Department of Biological Engineering, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA.
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. Correspondence to S.M. e-mail: mailto:[email protected]
Web End =samir@engineering. mailto:[email protected]
Web End =ucsb.edu doi:10.1038/nrd3499
Intrinsic issues that are associated with free drugs particularly with small interfering RNA (siRNA) and other nucleic acids include poor solubility, poor stability, unwanted toxicity and/or an inability to cross cell membranes. These issues have propelled the development of new drug delivery systems. The invivo pharmacokinetics and therapeutic activity of drugs generally needs to be improved, as drug costs are rising and drug pipelines are constricting1. Fuelled by many advances in nanotechnology and biotechnology, the past decades have witnessed rapid growth in the research and development of drug delivery devices in the form of polymeric nano- and/ or microparticles, liposomes and micelles, among others24. The success of these devices relies largely on the selection of appropriate design parameters to address the physicochemical limitations of free drugs (that is, solubility and stability) and to overcome biological hurdles in reaching the target (that is, the first-pass effect,...