Better than the real ones

Artificial red blood cells may be more versatile than natural ones

Sergey Vasiliev, Hi-tech+

Red blood cells are the most numerous cells in our body and the only ones devoid of nuclei. In fact, these are elastic membrane "bags" filled with millions of hemoglobin molecules – an iron-containing protein that carries oxygen and carbon dioxide. Flexibility allows red blood cells to penetrate even into capillaries whose diameter is smaller than their own.

Scientists have been trying to create similar "cells" artificially for a long time, but it has not yet been possible to achieve from them both the ability to carry oxygen, elasticity, and resistance to attacks by leukocytes. Such a development appeared only recently, and it is described in a new article published in the journal ACS Nano (Guo et al., Biomimetic Rebuilding of Multifunctional Red Blood Cells: Modular Design Using Functional Components).

As a basis, scientists from the group of Jeffrey Brinker (Jeffrey Brinker) from the University of New Mexico and Wei Zhu (Wei Zhu) from the South China University of Technology took natural red blood cells, covering them with the thinnest (about 10 nanometers) layer of silicone. A polymer coating was applied to such stabilized cells, after which the silicone was washed off, obtaining flexible "packages" of the desired disc-shaped shape. Target molecules were introduced inside – first of all, hemoglobin – and, finally, the finished system was covered with fragments of erythrocyte cell membranes.

Artificial erythrocyte; the ruler corresponds to two micrometers. Drawings from the article by Guo et al.

Artificial cells turned out to be as flexible as natural ones, and in experiments on mice they were preserved in the animal body for more than 48 hours without noticeable side effects. Moreover, the authors have shown that such synthetic red blood cells can be filled not only with hemoglobin, but also with any other "payload".

To demonstrate, the scientists obtained various "cells" containing magnetic nanoparticles, molecules of an antibiotic, an anti-cancer drug, fluorescent sensors of toxins and a contrast agent for MRI. The authors hope that the new convenient tool they have created will soon find the widest application in science and medicine.

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