Ligand-Modified Cell Membrane Enables the Targeted Delivery of Drug Nanocrystals to Glioma

The safe and efficient delivery of chemotherapeutic agents remains critical to anticancer therapy. Herein, we report on a targeted drug delivery system based upon a modified cell membrane coating technique and drug nanocrystals (NCs). Specifically, red blood cell (RBC) membrane was modified with targeting peptides through a facile insertion method involving avidin-biotin interactions. The RBC membrane-coated drug NCs (RBC-NCs) exhibited high drug loading, long-term stability, excellent biocompatibility, and prolonged retention time, all of which make them suitable for effective drug delivery. When modified with the tumor-targeting peptide c(RGDyK), the resulting RGD-RBC-NCs showed superior tumor accumulation and therapeutic efficacy both in mice bearing a subcutaneous tumor as well as orthotropic glioma. RBC-NC therapeutics can be readily generalized to the delivery of various drugs and for the treatment of a wide range of cancers.