Cell membrane-coated nanoparticles: a novel multifunctional biomimetic drug delivery system

Recently, nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have been widely used for the treatment, prevention, and detection of diseases. Improving the targeted delivery ability of nanoparticles has emerged as a critical issue that must be addressed as soon as possible. The bionic cell membrane coating technology has become a novel concept for the design of nanoparticles. The diverse biological roles of cell membrane surface proteins endow nanoparticles with several functions, such as immune escape, long circulation time, and targeted delivery; therefore, these proteins are being extensively studied in the fields of drug delivery, detoxification, and cancer treatment. Furthermore, hybrid cell membrane-coated nanoparticles enhance the beneficial effects of monotypic cell membranes, resulting in multifunctional and efficient delivery carriers. This review focuses on the synthesis, development, and application of the cell membrane coating technology and discusses the function and mechanism of monotypic/hybrid cell membrane-modified nanoparticles in detail. Moreover, it summarizes the applications of cell membranes from different sources and discusses the challenges that may be faced during the clinical application of bionic carriers, including their production, mechanism, and quality control. We hope this review will attract more scholars toward bionic cell membrane carriers and provide certain ideas and directions for solving the existing problems.