Red blood cell derived nanocarrier drug delivery system: A promising strategy for tumor therapy

Nano drug delivery systems have been widely used in tumor therapy. Researchers have been devoted to exploring novel nano-carriers to prolong circulation time biocompatibility and tumor targeting efficiency in vivo. Erythrocyte membranes as bionic nano-drug delivery systems have attracted more attention recently. There are abundant red blood cells (RBCs) in circulation, which are natural carriers for nanomaterial delivery. There are mainly two strategies to use RBCs as nanomaterial carriers: RBC-hitchhiking and bionic nanomaterial coated with erythrocyte membrane loading with drugs. Although nano-carrier based on RBCs have yielded some progress, the mechanism of mutual effect between nanoparticles and RBCs is still unclear. Here, we review the effects of nanoparticles on RBCs (morphology and function, etc) and application of RBCs membrane as nano-drug delivery carriers in tumor therapy. RBC derived nanocarrier drug delivery systems were applied in tumor treatment by two types: (A) RBC-hitchhiking and (B) RBC membrane coating. image