Albumin-based drug delivery: harnessing nature to cure disease. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Larsen, Maja; Kuhlmann, Matthias; Hvam, Michael; Howard, Kenneth
• Is Part Of: Molecular and cellular therapies. Volume 4:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 12
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Human serum albumin (HSA) -- Drugs -- Albumin-binding -- Albumin fusions -- Half-life extension -- Intracellular delivery -- Neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) -- Molecular medicine -- Targeted drug delivery; Molecular genetics -- Periodicals; Cellular therapy -- Periodicals; 615.895
• DOI: 10.1186/s40591-016-0048-8
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2052-8426

Abstract

Abstract The effectiveness of a drug is dependent on accumulation at the site of action at therapeutic levels, however, challenges such as rapid renal clearance, degradation or non-specific accumulation requires drug delivery enabling technologies. Albumin is a natural transport protein with multiple ligand binding sites, cellular receptor engagement, and a long circulatory half-life due to interaction with the recycling neonatal Fc receptor. Exploitation of these properties promotes albumin as an attractive candidate for half-life extension and targeted intracellular delivery of drugs attached by covalent conjugation, genetic fusions, association or ligand-mediated association. This review will give an overview of albumin-based products with focus on the natural biological properties and molecular interactions that can be harnessed for the design of a next-generation drug delivery platform.