Cell membrane camouflaged nanoparticle strategy and its application in brain disease: a review

Background Drug delivery to the brain is difficult, owing of the presence of a unique structure called the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Thus, strategies that facilitate drug delivery to the brain lesion sites via BBB penetration must be developed to optimally treat brain diseases, and cell membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles (CMCN) have been cited as potential candidates to overcome challenges related to BBB penetration. Area covered This review covers strategies that may facilitate drug delivery to the lesions of brain diseases beyond BBB, specifically focusing on utilization of cell membranes in nanoparticles. We summarized the possible benefits of utilizing cell membranes for delivering nanoparticles and also investigated the differences between cell membrane camouflaged nanoparticles and exosomes. Expert opinion CMCNs possess promising features that can serve as potential candidates for drug delivery vehicles to adequately deliver therapeutic agents to the brain as part of brain disease management. CMCN demonstrates remarkable biocompatibility, as they are designed using biologically derived materials. Moreover, these particles can potentially evade the immune system and prolong circulation time by using cell membrane proteins. The most prominent advantage of CMCN involves mimicking characteristics of cells that can penetrate into the brain. We believe that further research on CMCN will help develop a novel drug delivery platform that can improve brain disease management in the near future.