Cell-derived biomimetic drug delivery systems for cancer therapy

Nano-drugs hold great potential in the area of precision medicine. However, the easy recognition and fast clearance of nanoparticles by the immune systems has greatly hindered their application in cancer therapy. Inspired by the natural systems, cell-derived biomimetic drug delivery systems have aroused significant attention in recent years. This strategy, in which nano-drug carriers were surface-coated with endogenous cell membranes or co-incubated with live cells to form drug-carrying cells, organically combines the unique functionalities of cells and synthetic nanomaterials for effective delivery of therapeutic agents. On one hand, it can decrease the immunogenicity of nano-drugs, and prolong their in vivo blood circulation time. On the other hand, it will endow the nano-drugs with enhanced tumor targeting ability. In this review, we introduce the research progress of the application of cell-derived biomimetic drug delivery systems in cancer therapy, and discuss the challenges for additional breakthroughs in this field.