A Review on RBC-Hitchhiking as a Novel Drug Delivery System

Suresh A. Marnoor

Abstract

Red Blood Cells (RBCs) are the human body's most abundant cells. Transferring oxygen to cells and body tissues is their main function. Owing to their unique biological properties, they are very useful for drug delivery. Due to their biocompatibility and known protection in transfusions, RBCs are especially attractive carriers. RBCs are biodegradable, possess very long circulation half-lives. The vast majority of drugs fail because they disperse across the body, landing in surrounding organs where, in comparison to specifically targeting the places that are really in need, they can cause intolerable side effects. Drug delivery using the natural biological carriers is a fast-developing field. A new drug-delivery technology which uses red blood cells (RBCs) to shuttle nano-scale drug carriers, called RBC-hitchhiking (RH) can be used to achieve site specific drug delivery. This article summarises how RBC-Hitchhiking (RH) has enormous potential to achieve site-specific& prolonged drug delivery system.

Abstract

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