Engineering Protein Nanocages as Carriers for Biomedical Application

EasyChair Preprint 2769

Abstract

Protein nanocages have been explored as potential carriers in biomedicine. In recent years, the practical application of protein-based nanoparticles has expanded rapidly into areas like drug delivery, vaccine development, and biocatalysis. Protein based nano particles possess unique features that make them attractive as potential platforms for a variety of nanobiotechnological applications. Formed by the self-assembly of protein subunits, the caged structure has three surfaces that can be engineered: the interior, the exterior and the intersubunit. Therapeutic and diagnostic molecules have been loaded in the interior of nanocages, while their external surfaces have been engineered to enhance their biocompatibility and targeting abilities. Modifications of the intersubunit interactions have been shown to modulate the self-assembly profile with implications for tuning the molecular release. We review natural and synthetic protein nanocages that have been modified using chemical and genetic engineering techniques to impart non-natural functions that are responsive to the complex cellular microenvironment of malignant cells while delivering molecular cargos with improved efficiencies and minimal toxicity.

Keyphrases: Biocatalysis, Vaccine nanocage, biomedicine, nanocages, protein nanoparticles, virus-like particle.

@booklet{EasyChair:2769,
  author    = {Pratik Shejole and Atul Padol and Ankit Gaikwad},
  title     = {Engineering Protein Nanocages as Carriers for Biomedical Application},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 2769},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2020}}