Engineering Synthetic Erythrocytes as Next-Generation Blood Substitutes

Francisca L. Gomes, Seol Ha Jeong, Su Ryon Shin*, Jeroen Leijten*, Pascal Jonkheijm*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
56 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Blood scarcity is one of the main causes of healthcare disruptions worldwide, with blood shortages occurring at an alarming rate. Over the last decades, blood substitutes have aimed at reinforcing the supply of blood, with several products (e.g., hemoglobin (Hb)-based oxygen (O2) carriers, perfluorocarbons (PFC)) achieving a limited degree of success. Regardless, there is still no widespread solution to this problem due to persistent challenges in product safety and scalability. In this Review, different advances are described in the field of blood substitution, particularly in the development of artificial red blood cells, otherwise known as engineered erythrocytes (EE). The different strategies are categorized into natural, synthetic, or hybrid approaches, and discuss their potential in terms of safety and scalability. Synthetic EEs are identified as the most powerful approach, and describe erythrocytes from a materials engineering perspective. Their biological structure and function are reviewed, as well as explore different methods of assembling a material-based cell. Specifically, it is discussed how to recreate size, shape, and deformability through particle fabrication, and how to recreate the functional machinery through synthetic biology and nanotechnology. It is concluded by describing the versatile nature of synthetic erythrocytes in medicine and pharmaceuticals and propose specific directions for the field of erythrocyte engineering.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2315879
JournalAdvanced functional materials
Volume34
Issue number28
Early online date8 Feb 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jul 2024

Keywords

  • artificial cells
  • biomimetics
  • blood substitutes
  • lipid bilayers
  • oxygen generation
  • synthetic red blood cells
  • UT-Hybrid-D

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