Among all drug carriers, erythrocytes (known as red blood cells [RBC]) represent a potentially fascinating and, in some respects, unique carrier for drug delivery. Delivery of nanoparticle (NP)-based agents via their attachment on the RBC membrane is typically referred to as RBC-hitchhiking (RH). Although there have been some experimental studies that show successful and efficient drug delivery via NP-coated RBCs, there has been no study on how different parameters such as NP properties, adhesion strength, shear stress, and local vascular environment influence the delivery efficiency. it is very challenging to visualize and quantify the process of NPs detachment from RBC and binding to endothelium wall in vivo due to the complex vascular flow condition and small size of the NPs. The aim of this project is to develop an integrated computational modeling and microfluidic-based experiment to study drug delivery via RBC-hitchhiking. Indeed, this study will help understand the mechanism of delivering the NPs adhered to the RBC membrane to the targeted vascular sites.
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