Cell Membrane Engineering for Advanced Drug Delivery Against Neurodegenerative and Inflammatory Diseases

One novel strategy to address challenges in drug delivery for neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases is cell membrane engineering. Such complex pathophysiological and therapeutic challenges demand delivery systems to ensure that the drugs can overcome barriers, including the blood-brain barrier and cellular membrane selectivity. This chapter explores recent developments in cell membrane engineering and highlights how this approach can lead to improved drug delivery mediated by nanoparticles, nanovesicles, and hybrid systems that imitate natural biological membranes. This surface modification strategy can be used to target the drug to the inflamed tissue to enhance the therapeutic effects and minimize systemic side effects. This chapter summarizes cell membrane engineering methods, highlighting their ability to encapsulate diverse therapeutics, enhance stability, enable controlled release, and improve biocompatibility. The cell membrane engineered platform holds significant promise, there are several challenges to be addressed in terms of scalable clinical translation and long-term safety. The chapter underscores the need for further research and development to achieve clinical translation, especially concerning scalability metrics. Cell membrane engineering is revolutionizing drug delivery, offering promising, specific, efficient, and personalized approaches for neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases, addressing unmet medical needs.