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Functional ferritin nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering volume 11, pages 633–646 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Ferritin, a major iron storage protein with a hollow interior cavity, has been reported recently to play many important roles in biomedical and bioengineering applications. Owing to the unique architecture and surface properties, ferritin nanoparticles offer favorable characteristics and can be either genetically or chemically modified to impart functionalities to their surfaces, and therapeutics or probes can be encapsulated in their interiors by controlled and reversible assembly/disassembly. There has been an outburst of interest regarding the employment of functional ferritin nanoparticles in nanomedicine. This review will highlight the recent advances in ferritin nanoparticles for drug delivery, bioassay, and molecular imaging with a particular focus on their biomedical applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (973 Program) (Grant Nos. 2014CB744503 and 2013CB733802), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant Nos. 81422023, 81371596, 51273165, and U1505221), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant Nos. 20720160065 and 20720150141), the Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2014Y2004), and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, China (NCET-13-0502), and the Intramural Research Program (IRP), National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Zhantong Wang was particially funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics & Center for Molecular Imaging and Translational Medicine, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Zhantong Wang, Haiyan Gao, Yang Zhang & Gang Liu

  2. Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine (LOMIN), National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Zhantong Wang, Gang Niu & Xiaoyuan Chen

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  1. Zhantong Wang
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  2. Haiyan Gao
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  3. Yang Zhang
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  4. Gang Liu
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  5. Gang Niu
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  6. Xiaoyuan Chen
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Correspondence to Gang Liu or Xiaoyuan Chen.

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Dr. Xiaoyuan (Shawn) Chen received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Idaho (1999). After two postdocs at Syracuse University andWashington University in St. Louis, he started his Assistant Professorship in 2002 and then moved to Stanford in 2004. He moved to NIH in 2009 and became a Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine (LOMIN) at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), NIH. His current research interests include development of molecular imaging toolbox for better understanding of biology, early diagnosis of disease, monitoring therapy response, and guiding drug discovery/development. His lab puts special emphasis on high-sensitivity nanosensors for biomarker detection and theranostic nanomedicine for imaging, gene and drug delivery, and monitoring of treatment. Dr. Chen has published over 500 peer-reviewed papers (H-index = 101, total citations>50000 based on Google Scholar) and numerous books and book chapters. He is the founding editor of journal “Theranostics” (2015 IF = 8.854). He received ACS Bioconjugate Chemistry Lecturer Award (2016), NIH Director’s Award (2014) and NIBIB Mentor Award (2012). He is also the President of Chinese-American Society of Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology (CASNN) and President of the Radiopharmaceutical Science Council (RPSC), Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI).

Gang Liu received his MD degree from North Sichuan Medical College (China) in 2002 and PhD degree from Sichuan University (China) in 2009. Subsequently, he focused his training on nanomedicine and molecular imaging at the National Institutes of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the supervision of Dr. Xiaoyuan Chen (2009–2011). In 2012, he joined the Center for Molecular Imaging and Translational Medicine (CMITM), School of Public Health, Xiamen University. Currently he is a Professor of Biomedical and Bioengineering and his research interests include biomaterials, theranostics, and molecular imaging. His scientific work has been published as 100 papers in prestigious journals (Adv. Mater., Nat. Commun., PNAS, etc.), 8 invited book chapters, and 12 patents.

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Wang, Z., Gao, H., Zhang, Y. et al. Functional ferritin nanoparticles for biomedical applications. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 11, 633–646 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-017-1620-8

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Keywords

  • nanomedicine
  • ferritin
  • drug delivery
  • bioassay
  • molecular imaging