Construction of bionic nanoparticles camouflaged with macrophage membranes for drug delivery in breast cancer

The non-specificity of chemotherapeutic agents for tumor treatment often leads to systemic distribution and toxicities, severely limiting their use. Although the recent emergence of nano-drug systems enables precision drug delivery with fewer toxic side effects, high immunogenicity, low biostability, and poor targeting have limited the application of these delivery systems. In this study, macrophage membrane (MM)-encapsulated pH-responsive zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)-loaded naringenin (Ng) nanoparticles (MM-ZIF-8@Ng) were developed for tumor-targeted drug delivery to treat breast cancer. The MM encapsulation allows the nanomedicine to escape recognition by the immune system and to use the surface proteins for enrichment at the tumor site to enhance targeting. The drug-loaded biomimetic nanoparticles had a particle size of 187.9 ± 2.89 nm, and were pH-sensitive with a cumulative Ng release rate of 78.08 ± 2.35% in the tumor microenvironment. Compared with ZIF-8@Ng, MM-ZIF-8@Ng nanoparticles were absorbed more efficiently by cells, thus increasing cellular drug accumulation. In vivo NIR fluorescence imaging showed that MM-ZIF-8@Ng aggregated effectively at tumor sites and in vivo experiments showed that MM-ZIF-8@Ng nanoparticles effectively inhibited tumor growth. In conclusion, the ZIF-8 nanoscale delivery system coated with macrophage membranes and loaded with Ng provides a promising approach for targeted therapy for breast cancer.