Erythro-Magneto-HA-Virosome: A Bio-Inspired Drug Delivery System for Active Targeting of Drugs in the Lungs

Over the past few decades, finding more efficient and selective administration routes has gained significant attention due to its crucial role in the bioavailability, absorption rate and pharmaco-kinetics of therapeutic substances. Pulmonary delivery of drug has become an attractive target of scientific and biomedical interest in the health care research area as the lung, thanks to its high permeability and large absorptive surface area and good blood supply, is capable of absorbing pharmaceuticals either for local deposition or for systemic delivery. Nevertheless, the pulmonary drug delivery is relatively complex, and strategies to mitigate the effects of mechanical, chemical and immunological barriers are required. Herein engineered erythrocytes, the Erythro-Magneto-Haemagglutinin (HA)-virosomes (EMHVs), are used as novel strategy for effi-ciently deliver drugs to the lungs. EMHV bio-based carriers exploit the physical properties of magnetic nanoparticles to achieve effective targeting after their intravenous injection, thanks to an external magnetic field. In addition, the presence of haemagglutinin fusion proteins on EMHVs' membrane allows the DDS to anchor and fuse with the target tissue and locally release the thera-peutic compound. Our results on biomechanical and biophysical properties of EMHVs, such as membrane robustness and deformability and high magnetic susceptibility, as well as their in vivo biodistribution highlight that this bio-inspired DDS is a promising platform for the controlled and lung-targeting delivery of drugs, and represents a valuable alternative to inhalation therapy to fulfill unmet clinical needs.