Apoferritin applications in nanomedicine. (October 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Heger, Zbynek; Skalickova, Sylvie; Zitka, Ondrej; Adam, Vojtech; Kizek, Rene
• Is Part Of: Nanomedicine. Volume 9:Number 14(2014)
• Page Start: 2233
• Page End: 2245
• Publication Date: 2014-10
• Subjects: horse spleen ferritin -- magnetic resonance imaging -- nanoscale -- nanotrasporter -- photodynamic therapy -- self-assembly -- therapeutic agents; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Medical technology -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Therapeutic use -- Periodicals; 610.28
• DOI: 10.2217/nnm.14.119
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1743-5889

Abstract

Nanomedicine as a continuously evolving discipline is still looking for a structure with perfect properties that is usable as a multifunctional transporter. Great potential is attributed to synthetic materials such as fullerenes, porous hollow silica nanoparticles and single-wall nanotubes, among others. However, materials that are natural to the human body are more acceptable by the organism, and thus become an attractive approach in this field of research. Ferritins are proteins that naturally occur in most living organisms throughout evolution and may be a possible transporter choice. Numerous applications have demonstrated the possibilities of iron-free ferritins, called apoferritins, serving as platforms for various nanomedical purposes This article summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of these proteins and discusses their practical applications and future perspectives.