Design and fabrication of intracellular therapeutic cargo delivery systems based on nanomaterials: current status and future perspectives

Intracellular cargo delivery, the introduction of small molecules, proteins, and nucleic acids into a specific targeted site in a biological system, is an important strategy for deciphering cell function, directing cell fate, and reprogramming cell behavior. With the advancement of nanotechnology, many researchers use nanoparticles (NPs) to break through biological barriers to achieving efficient targeted delivery in biological systems, bringing a new way to realize efficient targeted drug delivery in biological systems. With a similar size to many biomolecules, NPs possess excellent physical and chemical properties and a certain targeting ability after functional modification on the surface of NPs. Currently, intracellular cargo delivery based on NPs has emerged as an important strategy for genome editing regimens and cell therapy. Although researchers can successfully deliver NPs into biological systems, many of them are delivered very inefficiently and are not specifically targeted. Hence, the development of efficient, target-capable, and safe nanoscale drug delivery systems to deliver therapeutic substances to cells or organs is a major challenge today. In this review, on the basis of describing the research overview and classification of NPs, we focused on the current research status of intracellular cargo delivery based on NPs in biological systems, and discuss the current problems and challenges in the delivery process of NPs in biological systems.