Bioengineered and Biomimetic Nanocarriers for Targeted Therapy and Theranostics: From Bio-Based Materials to Translational Bioprocessing

Biomimetic and surface-functionalized nanocarriers containing medicines represent an advanced and efficient approach for targeted drug delivery to improve its therapeutic efficacy while minimizing the side effects of during the treatment of oxidative stress induced diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. These nanocarriers are engineered to perform the functions of natural carriers’ and interact with the specific receptors present on the targeted cells, tissues, or disease sites. Natural polymers like alginate, chondroitin sulfate, gelatin, chitosan and hyaluronic acid are frequently used as nanocarriers which show low degree of toxicity, biodegradability and superior biocompatibility over synthetic polymer. Nanocarrier decorated with biological membranes from red blood cells, platelets, immune cells, or specific bioligands such as antibodies, peptides, aptamers, folic acid, and carbohydrates can inherit the source cells' biological functions, increases persistence time, and enhanced homing to target tissues. Bioligands attached to surface nanoparticle, specifically recognize the surface receptors to regulate the expression of the gene’s products which facilitate both active and passive targeting. Thus, biomimetic and surface-functionalized nanocarriers have emerged as promising strategies for targeted drug delivery for the treatment and diagnosis of diseases.Synthetic nanocarriers based drug delivery strategies shows low specificity for target, high immune response, low bioavailability, insufficient cellular uptake, fail to reach therapeutic concentrations at disease sites and high adverse side effects. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop smart nanocarrier systems which can selectively recognize target tissues with high efficacy, prolong circulation time, low side effect and low cost. Biomimetic and surface-functionalized nanocarriers utilizes natural polymers, cell membranes, and bioligands which can offer a promising solution over synthetic nanocarriers for the treatment of acute and chronic diseases. The expected outcomes of the proposed special issue may be exploration and development of safer and more effective nanomedicine based multifunctional nanocarriers, capable of delivering drugs, genes, proteins, and imaging agents at targeted sites along with controlled drug release, receptor-mediated endocytosis and improve intracellular drug delivery. However, challenges remain in optimizing targeting efficiency, stability, scalability, and safety for clinical applications.Advanced drug targeting approaches using natural polymers, bioligands and membranes involves designing, developing, characterization, and therapeutic application of efficient nanocarrier systems that mimic natural biological processes. The scope of this study includes nanoparticle synthesis, physicochemical characterization, ligand conjugation strategies, drug loading and release mechanisms, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and therapeutic performance along with use of different natural polymers and receptor-specific molecules. The topic also covers applications of nanocarrier in the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, liver, lungs, kidney related diseases, inflammatory and infectious diseases, gene delivery, vaccine development, repairing or regenerating damaged cells, tissues, or organs to restore normal function, and diagnostic applications. Additionally, the research topic also addresses challenges related to stability, scalability, safety, immunogenicity, regulatory considerations, and clinical translation. Research theme covers:o Biomimetic and bioengineered nanocarriers for targeted drug, gene, protein and imaging-agent deliveryo Natural polymer- and microbial biopolymer-based nanocarriers for biomedical applicationso Surface functionalization using peptides, antibodies, aptamers, carbohydrates, enzymes and cell-membrane coatingso Nanocarriers for oxidative-stress-associated diseases, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorderso Stimuli-responsive and redox-responsive nanocarriers for controlled release and intracellular deliveryo Biosurfactant-, exopolysaccharide- and polyhydroxyalkanoate-based delivery platformso Synthetic biology, metabolic engineering and bioprocessing approaches for bio-based nanomaterial productiono Scale-up, stability, safety, immunogenicity, regulatory and clinical translation challenges. Topic editors: Pankaj Singh, Vivek Kumar Gaur, Yashika Raheja Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84129/bioengineered-and-biomimetic-nanocarriers-for-targeted-therapy-and-theranostics-from-bio-based-materials-to-translational-bioprocessing