Biomimicry as a design tool for nanocontainers: The “shape of things to come” in drug delivery
Abstract Nanocontainers embody a “compartmentalized” structural archetype with the potential to operate on a dimensional scale that can either assimilate or be integrated within bio-driven processes. With expected improvements in sensitive diagnostic assays for early disease detection (e.g., CTCs or circulating tumor cells), this has important implications for developing drug delivery technologies to areas of small confinement in the body. Functionalized nanocontainers with tunable surface properties can help stabilize and release therapeutic chemical and biological drugs within nano- and sub-nano spaced cavities. Here, we discuss recent developments in the field of “nanocontainers” that show promise for addressing some of the more challenging aspects of drug therapeutics.