Cell membrane-engineered nanoparticles for cancer therapy

Abstract

Cell membrane-coating nanotechnology involves dressing synthetic nanoparticles (NPs) with membranes derived from different types of cells to endow the NPs with the properties of a specific cell type and to further achieve precise and effective disease treatment. Of great interest is the fact that cell membranes sourced from different cell sources can give different functions to the NPs. In this review, we comprehensively lay out the major advantages of several typical cell membranes, which are derived from red blood cells (RBCs), platelets, neutrophils, immune cells, stem cells, or cancer cells, for the selective fabrication of novel nanotherapeutics and their potential to greatly advance the development of nanomedicine and improve the curative effect of cancer treatments.