Carrier erythrocytes: recent advances, present status, current trends and future horizons

Carrier erythrocytes, thanks to their main advantages, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, immunocompatibility, simple and well-known structure and physiology, availability for sampling and versatility in loading and use, have been studied as cellular carriers for delivery of drugs and other bioactive agents for more than three decades. Based on this body of knowledge and recent advances in this field, and with the help of novel multidisciplinary sciences and technologies, it seems that this field is becoming renowned and experiencing an outstanding turning point in its developmental history.

In this trendy and timely review, following a short historical review of the story of erythrocytes from oxygen delivery to drug delivery and evaluation of the present status of these biocarriers, recent advances and current experimental, technological and clinical trends, as well as future horizons, and, in particular, translation-prone strategies, are going to be discussed in detail.

Despite the challenging developmental history of carrier erythrocytes, they now stand closer to clinical use and market entrance due to their unique advantages in drug delivery, proven by recently reported success stories in late-stage clinical trials and progresses made in biotechnology, nanotechnology and biomaterials fields. Translation-prone approaches, like in vivo loading of circulating erythrocytes or semiautomatic loading of erythrocytes, and more realistic study designs by focusing on clinical needs that have not been responded to or erythrocyte biology/fate-inspired study design are among the main trends being focused on by pioneer research groups active in this field of drug delivery.