Nanoparticles Disguised as Red Blood Cells to Fight Cancer

Researchers at the University of California, Sad Diego have designed a nanoparticle that will hopefully be used in the future to deliver cancer-fighting drugs. This particular method utilizes the membrane from red blood cells to evade the immune system. The technique involves gathering the membrane from a red blood cell and encasing it, like a powerful camouflaging cloak, around a biodegradable, polymer nanoparticle that contains an assortment of small molecule drugs. The article stated that this method “is the first work that combines the natural cell membrane with a synthetic nanoparticle for drug delivery applications”. The ability of any nanoparticle to elude the immune system for a lengthy amount of time has been a troubling issue for bioengineers for a very long time. Zhang (Professor at UC, San Diego) stated that these nanoparticle delivery vehicles, coated with the membrane of a red blood cell, can circulate in the body for hours. This period of time is far longer than the minutes that a nanoparticle would normally survive without the specially engineered covering.

The image above is a scanning fluorescence microscopy image which shows the RBC-membrane-cloaked polymeric nanoparticles after being taken up by a cancer cell. The RBC membrane is shown using the green dye, polymeric core with red dye, and cancer cell with blue dye.

I think it is quite hilarious that so many researchers are learning and studying the countless complexities of the receptors and dynamics of the membrane in order to create a mechanism that can mimic it; and this research team bypassed all of that and simply took the natural membrane and coated it on the nanoparticle. This is definitely the work of a bioengineer and not a biologist. I found the article to be very interesting, considering the tremendous amount of time and effort that we have put into our own nanomachine project. The future of nanotechnology is on the horizon and I am eager to see what is to come. The article, Nanoparticles Disguised as Red Blood Cells to Deliver Cancer-Fighting Drugs can be viewed at:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110620161300.htm