TY - JOUR AU - Pasto, Anna AU - Giordano, Federica AU - Evangelopoulos, Michael AU - Amadori, Alberto AU - Tasciotti, Ennio PY - 2019 DA - 2019/03/15 TI - Cell membrane protein functionalization of nanoparticles as a new tumor-targeting strategy JO - Clinical and Translational Medicine SP - 8 VL - 8 IS - 1 AB - Nanoparticles have seen considerable popularity as effective tools for drug delivery. However, non-specific targeting continues to remain a challenge. Recently, biomimetic nanoparticles have emerged as an innovative solution that exploits biologically-derived components to improve therapeutic potential. Specifically, cell membrane proteins extracted from various cells (i.e., leukocytes, erythrocytes, platelets, mesenchymal stem cells, cancer) have shown considerable promise in bestowing nanoparticles with increased circulation and targeting efficacy. Traditional nanoparticles can be detected and removed by the immune system which significantly hinders their clinical success. Biomimicry has been proposed as a promising approach to overcome these limitations. In this review, we highlight the current trends in biomimetic nanoparticles and describe how they are being used to increase their chemotherapeutic effect in cancer treatment. SN - 2001-1326 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40169-019-0224-y DO - 10.1186/s40169-019-0224-y ID - Pasto2019 ER -