Abstract

RESEALED ERYTHROCYTES BASED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

Kishor A. Bellad, Basavaraj K. Nanjwade*, Meghana S. Kamble, Teerapol Srichana

ABSTRACT

The Biological carriers can be used to achieve both the sustained and controlled drug delivery, unlike synthetic carriers which have to be administered either orally or parenterally, these can be introduced directly in to the blood stream. The delivery systems at present available enlist carriers that are either simple, soluble macromolecules such as monoclonal antibodies, soluble synthetic polymers, polysaccharides and biodegradable polymers or more complex multicomponent structures such as microcapsules, Micro particles, cells, cell ghosts, lipoproteins, liposome’s, Leukocytes, platelets, erythrocytes etc. Among all carriers, erythrocytes because of its unique nature and property are used in as an ideal drug delivery system. Blood is the fluid present in the body that delivers necessary substance and the gases to the cell and transports the metabolic waste away from these cells. Blood comprises of 55% of plasma and 45% of corpuscles which are composed of different type of cells like erythrocytes (RBC), leucocytes (WBC) and platelets that are suspended in the blood plasma. All blood cells are developed from stem cells which are immortal. Of the various cells being developed by the stem cells Erythrocytes, are the most plentiful cells in the human body and also have potential carrier capabilities for the drug delivery. Drug-loaded carrier erythrocytes are developed by gathering blood samples from the organism of interest, unraveling (i.e. separating) erythrocytes from plasma, thereby entrapping the drug in the erythrocytes and thus resealing the resultant cellular carriers. Therefore they are called resealed erythrocytes. Upon reinjection, the resealed erythrocytes work as slow circulating depots and thereby targeting the drugs to a reticulo-endothelial system (RES). Various methods are used to load drugs or other bioactive compounds in erythrocytes they includes physical methods (e.g., electrical pulse method), osmosis-based systems and chemical methods (e.g., chemical perturbation of the erythrocytes membrane). The potential therapeutic applications of resealed erythrocytes as a drug delivery system cover a wide spectrum of pharmacological as well as therapeutic targets which is mainly based on the intravenous slow drug release as well as the targeted drug delivery various other application involves drug targeting, drug release and hemoglobin content study, enzyme therapy, targeting reticulo-endothelial system (RES) organs, delivery of antiviral agents, treatment of parasitic disease etc. However various drug and enzymes like bleomycin, adriamycin, methotrexate, desferoxamine, murine, azidothymidine, azidothymidine and AcycIovir L-asparaginase are being loaded in erythrocytes for treatment of disease.

Keywords: Resealed erythrocytes; carrier; isolation; applications; drug delivery, drug targeting.