Abstract: Nucleic acids have emerged as promising therapeutic agents for many diseases because of their potential in modulating gene expression. However, the delivery of nucleic acids remains a significant challenge in gene therapy. Although viral vectors have shown high transfection efficiency, concerns regarding teratogenicity or carcinogenicity have been raised. Non-viral vehicles, including cationic polymers, liposomes, and inorganic materials possess advantages in terms of safety, ease of preparation, and low cost. Nevertheless, they also face limitations related to immunogenicity, quick clearance in vivo, and lack of targeting specificity. On the other hand, bioinspired strategies have shown increasing potential in the field of drug delivery, yet there is a lack of comprehensive reviews summarizing the rapid development of bioinspired nanoparticles based on the cell membrane camouflage to construct the nucleic acids vehicles. Herein, we enumerated the current difficulties in nucleic acid delivery with various non-viral vehicles and provided an overview of bioinspired strategies for nucleic acid delivery.

Keywords: nucleic acids, bioinspired nanoparticles, non-viral vehicles, gene therapy, cell membranes