CM Kaplama Improves Tumor Targeting

Cell Membrane Coating Improves Tumor Targeting Collaborative research between the University of Eastern Finland and Anhui Medical University in China has concluded that a new technique developed to improve the coating of nanoparticles used in cancer treatment could enhance tumor targeting. Tumor targeting is a prerequisite for effective cancer therapy, as it improves therapeutic outcomes and reduces side effects. However, achieving effective targeting with nanoparticles (NPs) coated with synthetic targeting ligands, currently considered the gold standard, is difficult. Cell membrane (CM) coating technology offers a new approach to overcome this challenge. CM coating imparts various biological properties to NPs, including immune evasion, prolonged systemic circulation time, and efficient tumor targeting. However, researchers previously discovered that most CM-coated NPs reported in the literature were only partially coated, as measured by a fluorescence quenching assay. While knowledge of the mechanisms associated with this partial coating is limited, it is known that it restricts further development of the coating technique and prevents improvement in tumor targeting. A study published in Nature Communications proposes an easy-to-apply method to correct partial CM coating. The technique involves external phospholipids that will help increase CM fluidity by triggering the final fusion of adjacent CM patches. The researchers identified how the coating process, encompassing adsorption, rupture, and fusion of CM vesicles, creates partial coating. Lizhi Liu, the lead author of the study from the University of Eastern Finland, stated: "Through computational simulation results, although rupture of CM vesicles may occur during extrusion, membrane fluidity was determined to be a critical factor in fixing partial coating. Subsequently, improvement of partial coating was achieved by adding external unsaturated phospholipids to increase CM fluidity." Dr Wujun Xu, one of the corresponding authors of the paper, said: "Fixing partial CM coating effectively improved NP accumulation in tumor tissue due to enhanced immune evasion and the enhanced specific cancer-targeting power of stable biomimetic NPs." Professor Vesa-Pekka Lehto from the University of Eastern Finland stated: "We validated the universality of this hybrid coating method using various core NPs such as porous silica, gold, and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Our research, through deeper understanding of the coating mechanism, initiates a new era in better biomimetic nanovector design for enhanced tumor targeting." Lizhi Liu, Dingyi Pan, Sheng Chen, Maria-Viola Martikainen, Anna Kårlund, Jing Ke, Herkko Pulkkinen, Hanna Ruhanen, Marjut Roponen, Reijo Käkelä, Wujun Xu, Jie Wang, Vesa-Pekka Lehto. Systematic design of cell membrane coating to improve tumor targeting of nanoparticles. Nature Communications, 2022; 13 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33889-3 Source