Engineering the Mammalian Cell Surface with Synthetic Polymers: Strategies and Applications

Abstract

Manipulating the surface of living cells represents a powerful tool by which to control cell behavior and provides a unique strategy to modulate cellular function and cell–cell interactions. Recent progress in this area has seen the development of robust and elegant approaches to selectively decorate the cell surface, leading to unprecedented advances in cellular manipulation and cell‐based therapies. Despite some impressive in vitro results, several obstacles remain to the broader application of some of these strategies, including their limited translation in vivo. In this review, the leading techniques used to introduce polymers at the plasma membrane of mammalian cells are discussed, focusing on strategies that generate a stable and homogeneous distribution of polymeric chains at the cell surface. Application of these strategies to control cell behavior and deliver cell‐based therapies to targeted tissues are highlighted.

A Modular and Efficient Synthetic Platform for the Construction of Supramolecular Mono-telechelic Polymers

“…Engineering cell surfaces with synthetic polymer materials is a powerful strategy to develop cell-based materials, with broad applications in fields ranging from cell-based therapy to cryopreservation. [60][61][62][63] Besides covalent modification of cell surfaces by bio-orthogonal reactions, non-covalently attaching polymers onto cell membranes through specific molecular recognition has also attracted growing research interests. [64][65][66] In this part of our work, the application of supramolecular mono-telechelic polymers in cell surface engineering was explored.…”

Prebiotic inulin nanocoating for pancreatic islet surface engineering

“…8,12 Cell surface engineering has, in recent years, become a popular technique, which could potentially tailor the cell surface to suit specific microenvironments and facilitate cell function. [13][14][15] Broadly speaking, reshaping the landscape of living cells is conducted either (bio)chemically [16][17][18][19][20][21] or physically. [22][23][24][25][26][27] Among those, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been widely used for pancreatic islet surface engineering by providing a "backbone" structure for physical support.…”

Engineering living cells with cucurbit[7]uril-based supramolecular polymer chemistry: from cell surface engineering to manipulation of subcellular organelles

“…[31][32][33][34][35] Synthetic polymers are one of the most popular articial materials used in living cell engineering, mainly because of their accessibility and structural diversity. 36,37 Nevertheless, the current demand for precision, modularity, and complexity creates further challenges in developing advanced polymeric systems. The emerging application of DNA technology in living cell engineering is an example.…”