title: Native and synthetic ferritins for nanobiomedical applications: recent advances and new perspectives.
abstract: Ferritin is the protein whose function is to store iron that the cell does not require immediately for metabolic processes, thereby protecting against the toxic effects of free Fe(2+). Ferritin therefore plays a crucial role in iron metabolism as well as in the development of some diseases, especially those related to the presence of free Fe(2+) and toxic hydroxyl radicals. In addition, ferritin is itself a catalytic bionanoparticle. Its internal cavity can be used as a nanoreactor to produce non-native metallic nanoparticles. Moreover, its external protein shell can be chemically modified, allowing ferritin to be used as a precursor for a library of metallic nanoparticles, some which may have potential applications in biomedicine, especially as multimodal imaging probes. This article presents a brief overview of the evidence for the role of native ferritin in some diseases, as well as the potential of some synthetic ferritins--in which a non-native inorganic material has been introduced into the cavity and/or the external shell has been modified--in the field of nanobiomedicine.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Universidad de Granada 18071 Granada, Spain. josema@ugr.es
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Domínguez-Vera
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Natividad
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gálvez
mesh_terms: D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D050997:Nanomedicine; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011487:Protein Conformation; D045663:Quantum Dots
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron