Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2018;1064:27-43. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-0445-3_2.
Protein cage nanoparticles are made of biomaterials, proteins, and have well-defined cage-like architectures designed and built by nature. They are composed of multiple copies of one or a small number of chemically identical subunits having a highly uniform nano-size and symmetric structure. Protein cage nanoparticles have genetic and chemical plasticity amenable to simultaneously introducing multiple cell-specific targeting ligands, diagnostic agents, and their corresponding therapeutic agents at desired sites depending on its purpose. A wide range of protein cage nanoparticles, such as ferritin, lumazine synthase, encapsulin, and virus-like particles, has been extensively explored and utilized in biomedical fields as effective delivery nanoplatforms of diagnostics and/or therapeutics. Highly biocompatible and plastic protein cage nanoparticles may provide a new paradigm for developing simple, but versatile in vivo delivery systems.
蛋白笼纳米颗粒由生物材料、蛋白质组成，具有由大自然设计和构建的具有明确笼状结构的特点。它们由一个或少量化学上相同的亚基的多个拷贝组成，具有高度均匀的纳米尺寸和对称结构。蛋白笼纳米颗粒具有遗传和化学可塑性，能够根据其目的在所需部位同时引入多个细胞特异性靶向配体、诊断剂及其相应的治疗剂。广泛的蛋白笼纳米颗粒，如铁蛋白、黄素合酶、包裹蛋白和类病毒颗粒，已被广泛探索和应用于生物医学领域，作为诊断和/或治疗的有效递药纳米平台。高度生物相容和可塑的蛋白笼纳米颗粒可能为开发简单但多功能的体内递药系统提供新的范例。
