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Review
. 2017 Jan 19;2(1):43-57.
doi: 10.1002/btm2.10049. eCollection 2017 Mar.

Virus-like particles: Next-generation nanoparticles for targeted therapeutic delivery

Marcus J Rohovie  1 , Maya Nagasawa  2 , James R Swartz  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Virus-like particles: Next-generation nanoparticles for targeted therapeutic delivery

Marcus J Rohovie et al. Bioeng Transl Med. .

Abstract

Most drug therapies distribute the agents throughout the entire body, even though the drugs are typically only needed at specific tissues. This often limits dosage and causes discomfort and harmful side-effects. Significant research has examined nanoparticles (NPs) for use as targeted delivery vehicles for therapeutic cargo, however, major clinical success has been limited. Current work focuses mainly on liposomal and polymer-based NPs, but emerging research is exploring the engineering of viral capsids as noninfectious protein-based NPs-termed virus-like particles (VLPs). This review covers the research that has been performed thus far and outlines the potential for these VLPs to become highly effective delivery vehicles that overcome the many challenges encountered for targeted delivery of therapeutic cargo.

Keywords: nanoparticle; protein engineering; targeted delivery; therapeutics; virus‐like particle.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structures of the six VLPs discussed in this review
Figure 2
Figure 2
Common conjugation chemistries. Reactions used to functionalize the exterior and interior of VLPs at reactive amino acids (X is a ligand or cargo)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Targeted Delivery Sequence. Stabilized VLPs first extravasate from the blood vessel and then target the specific cells and trigger internalization while avoiding the immune system. Once endocytosed, the VLPs escape the endosome and then disassemble to release their cargo (italics correspond to challenges listed in Table 1)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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