Genetically Engineered Cell Membrane-Coated Nanoparticles with High-Density Customized Membrane Receptor for High-Performance Drug Lead Discovery

Nanomaterials in gastric cancer: pioneering precision medicine for diagnosis, therapy, and prevention

Gastric cancer (GC) continues to be a major health issue globally due to its high rates of both occurrence and mortality. Despite advancements in treatment, the outlook for those affected remains poor, highlighting the critical need for new diagnostic and treatment methods. Nanotechnology, especially nanoparticles, is emerging as a crucial innovation in cancer care by improving imaging, targeting drug delivery, and enhancing early detection. These nanoparticles are also enhancing the effectiveness of treatments like phototherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Notably, they show potential in addressing infections like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which is known to increase the risk of developing GC. This review underscores the pivotal role of nanotechnology in enhancing the integrated management of GC, offering a basis for future advancements in the field.

Bioorthogonal Synthesis of Biomimetic Nanoparticles for Screening Chemical Hazards in Food Samples

The ability to identify unknown risks is the key to improving the level of food safety. However, the conventional nontargeted screening methods for new contaminant identification and risk assessment remain difficult work. Herein, a toxic-oriented screening platform based on high-expression epidermal growth factor receptor HEK293 cell membrane-coated magnetic nanoparticles (EGFR/MNPs) was first used for the discovery of unknown contaminants from food samples. The EGFR served as a bait to bind the risk compounds, considering that the abnormal activation of EGFR was related to the incidence of numerous chronic inflammatory diseases. The cell membranes were specifically covalently immobilized on magnetic carriers through metabolic glycoengineering and strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC) to ensure the stability and bioactivity of the EGFR/MNPs. The synthesized EGFR/MNPs possessed an excellent receptor loading amount and were used to screen potential risk substances from thermally processed food. Finally, two compounds, harman and norharman, were rapidly identified. The toxicological experiments confirmed that the screened compounds could promote EGFR phosphorylation and further activate downstream signaling pathways, thereby inducing cellular oxidative damage. The proposed method provided a toxic-oriented method for identifying risk compounds from food samples.

Development of target-based cell membrane affinity ultrafiltration technology for a simplified approach to discovering potential bioactive compounds in natural products

Target-based drug discovery technology based on cell membrane targets has gained significant traction and has been steadily advancing. However, current methods still face certain limitations that need to be addressed. One of the challenges is the laborious preparation process of screening materials, which can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Additionally, there is a potential issue of non-specific adsorption caused by carrier materials, which can result in false-positive results and compromise the accuracy of the screening process. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a target-based cell membrane affinity ultrafiltration technology for active ingredient discovery in natural products. In this technique, the cell membranes of human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cells (A549) with a high expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were incubated with candidate drugs and then transferred to an ultrafiltration tube. Through centrifugation, components that interacted with EGFR were retained in the ultrafiltration tube as "EGFR-ligand" complex, while the components that did not interact with EGFR were separated. After thorough washing and eluting, the components interacting with EGFR were dissociated and further identified using LC-MS, enabling the discovery of bioactive compounds. Moreover, the target-based cell membrane affinity ultrafiltration technology exhibited commendable binding capacity and selectivity. Ultimately, this technology successfully screened and identified two major components from the Curcumae Rhizoma-Sparganii Rhizoma (CS) herb pair extracts, which were further validated for their potential anti-tumor activity through pharmacological experiments. By eliminating the need for laborious preparation of screening materials and the potential non-specific adsorption caused by carriers, the development of target-based cell membrane affinity ultrafiltration technology provides a simplified approach and method for bioactive compounds discovery in natural sources.