title: Bioengineered and biohybrid bacteria-based systems for drug delivery.
abstract: The use of bacterial cells as agents of medical therapy has a long history. Research that was ignited over a century ago with the accidental infection of cancer patients has matured into a platform technology that offers the promise of opening up new potential frontiers in medical treatment. Bacterial cells exhibit unique characteristics that make them well-suited as smart drug delivery agents. Our ability to genetically manipulate the molecular machinery of these cells enables the customization of their therapeutic action as well as its precise tuning and spatio-temporal control, allowing for the design of unique, complex therapeutic functions, unmatched by current drug delivery systems. Early results have been promising, but there are still many important challenges that must be addressed. We present a review of promises and challenges of employing bioengineered bacteria in drug delivery systems and introduce the biohybrid design concept as a new additional paradigm in bacteria-based drug delivery.
authors.affiliation: Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany.
authors.forename: Zeinab
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hosseinidoust
authors.affiliation: Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany.
authors.forename: Babak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mostaghaci
authors.affiliation: Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany.
authors.forename: Oncay
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yasa
authors.affiliation: Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany.
authors.forename: Byung-Wook
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany.
authors.forename: Ajay Vikram
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart 70569, Germany. Electronic address: sitti@is.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Metin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sitti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D057005:Bioengineering; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations
keywords: Bacteria; Bactofection; Biohybrid; Cell therapy; Engineered; Gene therapy; Microbial factories; Microrobotics; Synthetic biology; Tumor targeting