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Review
. 2020 Dec 16;25(24):5952.
doi: 10.3390/molecules25245952.

Nano-Biomimetic Drug Delivery Vehicles: Potential Approaches for COVID-19 Treatment

Bwalya A Witika  1   2 , Pedzisai A Makoni  2 , Larry L Mweetwa  1 , Pascal V Ntemi  2 , Melissa T R Chikukwa  2 , Scott K Matafwali  3 , Chiluba Mwila  4 , Steward Mudenda  4 , Jonathan Katandula  5 , Roderick B Walker  2
Affiliations
Review

Nano-Biomimetic Drug Delivery Vehicles: Potential Approaches for COVID-19 Treatment

Bwalya A Witika et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resolve of the global community with more than 35 million infections worldwide and numbers increasing with no cure or vaccine available to date. Nanomedicines have an advantage of providing enhanced permeability and retention and have been extensively studied as targeted drug delivery strategies for the treatment of different disease. The role of monocytes, erythrocytes, thrombocytes, and macrophages in diseases, including infectious and inflammatory diseases, cancer, and atherosclerosis, are better understood and have resulted in improved strategies for targeting and in some instances mimicking these cell types to improve therapeutic outcomes. Consequently, these primary cell types can be exploited for the purposes of serving as a "Trojan horse" for targeted delivery to identified organs and sites of inflammation. State of the art and potential utilization of nanocarriers such as nanospheres/nanocapsules, nanocrystals, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles/nano-structured lipid carriers, dendrimers, and nanosponges for biomimicry and/or targeted delivery of bioactives to cells are reported herein and their potential use in the treatment of COVID-19 infections discussed. Physicochemical properties, viz., hydrophilicity, particle shape, surface charge, composition, concentration, the use of different target-specific ligands on the surface of carriers, and the impact on carrier efficacy and specificity are also discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; biomimetic drug delivery; cytokine storm syndrome; nanomedicine; nanotechnology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of types and sources of cell-derived biomimetic nano-drug delivery systems.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of the structure of the coronavirus.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of SARS-CoV-2 cellular infection cascade and symptom onset.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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