A Hitchhiker's and Backpacker's Guide to Drug Delivery

Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems are widely explored to improve the biological outcome of chemo and immunotherapy. However, poor vascular circulation, limited targeting and the inability to negotiate many biological barriers are key hurdles in their clinical translation. Biology has provided many examples of successful “carriers” in the form of cells, which routinely overcome the hurdles faced by synthetic nanoparticle systems. We are exploring hitchhiking and backpacking approaches which involve combining synthetic particles with cells to drastically alter the in vivo fate of the particles as well as the cells. I will provide an overview of the principles and examples of hitchhiking and backpacking approaches for drug and cell therapy.