Biointerface engineering of self-protective bionic nanomissiles for targeted synergistic chemotherapy

Erythrocyte membrane (EM)-camouflaged chemotherapeutic delivery nanovehicles hold promise for solid tumor therapy because of their excellent biostability and biocompatibility. However, it is accompanied with insufficient targeting effect and deficient pharmacokinetic behavior due to the lack of a regulated biointerface to navigate and overcome biological transportation obstacles in solid tumor therapy. Herein, an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) aptamer (EApt) modified and EM-cloaked chemotherapeutic nanomissile delivery system was constructed. The anchored-EApt acting as a specific EGFR suppressor promotes to inhibit the overexpression of EGFR and initiate the cell apoptosis. Importantly, the resulting PLGA-DOX@EM-EApt orchestrated the bioactivity of each component and provided synergistic cell apoptosis and antitumor effects by precisely suppressing EGFR expression levels and delivering DOX. The in vitro and in vivo experimental results confirmed that the immune escape and active targeting behaviors of PLGA-DOX@EM-EApt could significantly promote its drug retention and tumor inhibition abilities. Our findings propose a novel strategy using the biointerface functionalization technique, demonstrating a promising therapeutic platform via a biomimetic drug delivery system for precise solid tumor recognition and synergistic therapy.