Coating nanoparticles with gastric epithelial cell membrane for targeted antibiotic delivery against infection.

Inspired by the natural pathogen-host interactions and adhesion, this study reports on the development of a novel targeted nanotherapeutics for the treatment of () infection. Specifically, plasma membranes of gastric epithelial cells (e.g. AGS cells) are collected and coated onto antibiotic-loaded polymeric cores, the resulting biomimetic nanoparticles (denoted AGS-NPs) bear the same surface antigens as the source AGS cells and thus have inherent adhesion to bacteria. When incubated with bacteria , the AGS-NPs preferentially accumulate on the bacterial surfaces. Using clarithromycin (CLR) as a model antibiotic and a mouse model of infection, the CLR-loaded AGS-NPs demonstrate superior therapeutic efficacy as compared the free drug counterpart as well as non-targeted nanoparticle control group. Overall, this work illustrates the promise and strength of using natural host cell membranes to functionalize drug nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery to pathogens that colonize on the host cells. As host-pathogen adhesion represents a common biological event for various types of pathogenic bacteria, the bioinspired nanotherapeutic strategy reported here represents a versatile delivery platform that may be applied to treat numerous infectious diseases.