Micro/Nano-Engineering of Cells for Delivery of Therapeutics

Cell-based therapies hold a great promise for treatment of a wide array of tragic diseases. Specifically, the use of cellular vehicle platforms emerges as a powerful strategy for targeted delivery of therapeutics to sites of disease. In this chapter, we first review the success and current challenges of different cell therapies, focusing on pancreatic islet transplantation as well as multiple types of stem cell therapies. We then shift our discussion to cellular delivery systems. Efficient cell targeting to desired sites is a crucial aspect towards effective use of such platforms. Accordingly, we thoroughly discuss a variety of cell engineering strategies to improve cell targeting to sites of interest. We then discuss key aspects of cellular delivery, including the types and characteristics of different nanosystems, candidate therapeutic agents and cell types suitable for this approach. Finally, we conclude with a case study of Trojan Horse cell-based cancer therapy.