Zwitterionic drug nanocarriers: a biomimetic strategy for drug delivery

Nanomaterials self-assembled from amphiphilic functional copolymers have emerged as safe and efficient nanocarriers for delivery of therapeutics. Surface engineering of the nanocarriers is extremely important for the design of drug delivery systems. Bioinspired zwitterions are considered as novel nonfouling materials to construct biocompatible and bioinert nanocarriers. As an alternative to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), zwitterions exhibit some unique properties that PEG do not have. In this review, we highlight recent progress of the design of drug nanocarriers using a zwitterionic strategy. The possible mechanism of stealth properties of zwitterions was proposed. The advantages of zwitterionic drug nanocarriers deriving from phosphorylcholine (PC), carboxybetaine (CB), and sulfobetaine (SB) are also discussed.