Schematic diagram showing the synthetic process of cell membrane coated nanoparticles. Basically, interested membranes are first extracted from the cell sources, e.g., macrophages, neutrophils, erythrocytes, platelets, cancer cells and stem cells. The membranes are further coated on selected nanoparticles, e.g., black phosphorous, liposome, iron oxide nanoparticle, upconversion nanoparticle, gold nanorod and mesoporous silica nanoparticle. The membrane–core hybrid system can be applied to treat cardiovascular diseases. Abbreviations: BP: black phosphorous; LP: liposome; IONP: iron oxide nanoparticle; UCNP: upconversion nanoparticle; Au NR: gold nanorod; MSN: mesoporous silica nanoparticle.