Announcing a new publication for Acta Materia Medica journal. Microorganisms are mostly distributed on the surface of our skin and intestines and have crucial roles in physiologic and metabolic processes, such as digestion and immunity, which are closely related to diseases.

Recently, microorganisms have received great attention and have been applied in various aspects of biomedicine, especially in the field of drug delivery. However, the application of bacteria has been largely limited due to the intrinsic nature of bacteria, including rapid proliferation, toxicity, and immunogenicity. Therefore, microbial decoration is an attention-grabbing approach to drug delivery by altering the properties and functions of microbial surfaces. Microbial decoration methods are diverse and include biotin-affinity and gene decoration technologies. These approaches can improve the specific delivery of drugs, enhance the stability and controlled release of drug delivery vehicles, and are useful in cancer therapy, gene therapy, and vaccine delivery. Microbial decoration has broad application prospects by helping develop smarter and more precise drug delivery systems and providing more effective and safer therapeutic options for patients.

This review article summarizes the research progress in different microbial surface modification methods and the applications in drug delivery, as well as the outlook for future opportunities in this field.