Protein based nanomedicine : Promising therapeutic modalities against inflammatory disorders

The safe and targeted delivery of pharmaceutical formulations has relied exten-sively on synthetic chemistry and other physicochemical approaches. Theresearch paradigm is now especially changing towards green (or environmentallyfriendly) approaches, and several biopolymer-based nanocarriers are marked asemerging nanomedicine tools. These have been developed to overcome problemswith conventional drug carriers, which induce severe side effects, especially dueto non-specificity with detrimental effects on non-targeted normal healthy cells.In addition, the phagocytosis of classic nanoparticles (NPs) and their degrada-tion associated with the formation of oxygen radicals by the immune systemare significant barriers for drug delivery. In this regard, protein nanocarriersappear as a promising approach to escape unwanted immune reactions. More-over, these protein-based NPs are generally non-toxic, biodegradable, and evencost-effective. As a less appreciated advantage, the surface properties of proteinsare easily modified. There are, however, several challenges and limiting choicesto make when choosing the type of modification to enable effective drug delivery.Here, we shed light on the role of protein nanocarriers for enhancing the bioavail-ability of different anti-inflammatory drugs, including better macrophage target-ing and overcoming biological barriers. This insight helps one to understandtheir broad utility in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and bridges thegap between naturaltherapeutic products and nanotechnology-based deliveryapproaches, creating perhaps an optimal blend to meet some of our most per-sistent healthcare problems.Godkänd;2022;Nivå 0;2022-04-13 (johcin);Forskningsfinansiär: Higher Education Commission Pakistan (NRPU-6126)