In vivo nano-biosensing element of red blood cell-mediated delivery

Biosensors based on nanotechnology are developing rapidly and are widely applied in many fields including biomedicine, environmental monitoring, national defense and analytical chemistry, and have achieved vital positions in these fields. Novel nano-materials are intensively developed and manufactured for potential biosensing and theranostic applications while lacking comprehensive assessment of their potential health risks. The integration of diagnostic in vivo biosensors and the DDSs for delivery of therapeutic drugs holds an enormous potential in next-generation theranostic platforms. Controllable, precise, and safe delivery of diagnostic biosensing devices and therapeutic agents to the target tissues, organs, or cells is an important determinant in developing advanced nanobiosensor-based theranostic platforms. Particularly, inspired by the comprehensive biological investigations on the red blood cells (RBCs), advanced strategies of RBC-mediated in vivo delivery have been developed rapidly and are currently in different stages of transforming from research and design to pre-clinical and clinical investigations. In this review, the RBC-mediated delivery of in vivo nanobiosensors for applications of bio-imaging at the single-cell level, advanced medical diagnostics, and analytical detection of biomolecules and cellular activities are presented. A comprehensive perspective of the technical framework of the state-of-the-art RBC-mediated delivery systems is explained in detail to inspire the design and implementation of advanced nanobiosensor-based theranostic platforms taking advantage of RBC-delivery modalities.

Nanoparticle-based drug delivery via RBC-hitchhiking for the inhibition of lung metastases growth

Delivery of particle-based theranostic agents via their transportation on the surfaces of red blood cells, commonly referred to as RBC-hitchhiking, has historically been developed as a promising strategy for increasing the extremely poor blood circulation lifetime, primarily, of the large-sized sub-micron agents. Here, we show for the first time that RBC-hitchhiking can be extremely efficient for nanoparticle delivery and tumor treatment even in those cases when no circulation prolongation is observed. Specifically, we demonstrate that RBC-hitchhiking of certain small 100 nm particles, unlike that of the conventional sub-micron ones, can boost the delivery of non-targeted particles to lungs up to a record high value of 120-fold (and up to 40% of the injected dose). To achieve this remarkable result, we screened sub-200 nm nanoparticles of different sizes, polymer coatings and ζ-potentials and identified particles with the optimal RBC adsorption/desorption behavior. Furthermore, we demonstrated that such RBC-mediated rerouting of particles to lungs can be used to fight pulmonary metastases of aggressive melanoma B16-F1. Our findings could change the general paradigm of drug delivery for cancer treatment with RBC-hitchhiking. It is not the blood circulation lifetime that is the key factor for nanoparticle efficiency, but rather the complexation of nanoparticles with the RBC. The demonstrated technology could become a valuable tool for development of new strategies based on small nanoparticles for the treatment of aggressive and small-cell types of cancer as well as other lung diseases.

Spatio-Temporal Control of Cell Adhesion: Toward Programmable Platforms to Manipulate Cell Functions and Fate

Biophysical and biochemical signals of material surfaces potently regulate cell functions and fate. In particular, micro- and nano-scale patterns of adhesion signals can finely elicit and affect a plethora of signaling pathways ultimately affecting gene expression, in a process known as mechanotransduction. Our fundamental understanding of cell-material signals interaction and reaction is based on static culturing platforms, i.e., substrates exhibiting signals whose configuration is time-invariant. However, cells in-vivo are exposed to arrays of biophysical and biochemical signals that change in time and space and the way cells integrate these might eventually dictate their behavior. Advancements in fabrication technologies and materials engineering, have recently enabled the development of culturing platforms able to display patterns of biochemical and biophysical signals whose features change in time and space in response to external stimuli and according to selected programmes. These dynamic devices proved to be particularly helpful in shedding light on how cells adapt to a dynamic microenvironment or integrate spatio-temporal variations of signals. In this work, we present the most relevant findings in the context of dynamic platforms for controlling cell functions and fate in vitro. We place emphasis on the technological aspects concerning the fabrication of platforms displaying micro- and nano-scale dynamic signals and on the physical-chemical stimuli necessary to actuate the spatio-temporal changes of the signal patterns. In particular, we illustrate strategies to encode material surfaces with dynamic ligands and patterns thereof, topographic relieves and mechanical properties. Additionally, we present the most effective, yet cytocompatible methods to actuate the spatio-temporal changes of the signals. We focus on cell reaction and response to dynamic changes of signal presentation. Finally, potential applications of this new generation of culturing systems for in vitro and in vivo applications, including regenerative medicine and cell conditioning are presented.