Collection

Advanced Non-viral Delivery Systems in Tissue Engineering

Submission status
Open
Open for submission from
09 January 2023
Submission deadline
Ongoing
Tissue engineering is the process of modulating the biological function of target cells and/or tissues. From this point of view, the use of small molecule drugs, biomacromolecules, and stem cells as external mediator effectors is particularly promising, as their chemical composition and bioactivity can be well-customized prior to use to fulfill both the modulation function and safety profile, and thus have greatly promoted the development of tissue engineering. However, a common dilemma of these external mediators is that direct administration of these highly bioactive small molecules, biomacromolecules, and stem cells either systemically or topically usually results in a relatively low effect in the target tissues due to the presence of multiple systemic and intracellular biological barriers. In this regard, the use of delivery systems is dispensable to effectively overcome the various biological barriers to improve the bioavailability and therapeutic efficiency of small molecule drugs, biomacromolecules, and stem cells. Viral delivery systems, while more efficient, also pose potential safety risks. In contrast, non-viral delivery systems have their own advantageous properties, such as ease of synthesis, high flexibility in chemical composition, and biological functions, although different design principles are required for each of small molecule drugs, biomacromolecules, and stem cells. Advances in materials science, chemistry, biotechnology, and even engineering have greatly promoted the development of non-viral delivery systems. In conjunction with the increasing understanding of histogenesis and pathogenesis, exciting and encouraging results have been achieved in both research and clinical applications of non-viral delivery systems. Meanwhile, new challenges have emerged in the translation of the non-viral delivery systems from the laboratory to the clinic. This collection is intended to present both the exciting new results in experiments and a summary of recent progress in the development of non-viral delivery systems for small molecules, biomacromolecules, and stem cells for tissue engineering. It is anticipated that new trends can be derived from the research conducted to illuminate the potential opportunities for further development of clinically viable non-viral delivery systems to accelerate translation. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: 1) Lipids and lipid nanoparticles for delivery of small molecule drug, DNA or RNA 2) Polymers for delivery of small molecule drug, DNA or RNA 3) Natural or synthetic polymers for stem cell encapsulation 4) Strategies for the preparation of biomaterials 5) Formulation of delivery systems for small molecule drug, DNA or RNA

Editors

  • Dezhong Zhou Dezhong Zhou  &

    Dezhong Zhou

    School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi, PR China

  • Wenxin Wang Wenxin Wang

    Wenxin Wang

    Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland

Articles (33 in this collection)