title: Ferritin cage for encapsulation and delivery of bioactive nutrients: From structure, property to applications.
abstract: Ferritin is a class of naturally occurring iron storage proteins, which is distributed widely in animal, plant, and bacteria. It usually consists of 24 subunits that form a hollow protein shell with high symmetry. One holoferritin molecule can store up to 4500 iron atom within its inner cavity, and it becomes apoferritin upon removal of iron from the cavity. Recently, scientists have subverted these nature functions and used reversibly self-assembled property of apoferritin cage controlled by pH for the encapsulation and delivery of bioactive nutrients or anticancer drug. In all these cases, the ferritin cages shield their cargo from the influence of external conditions and provide a controlled microenvironment. More importantly, upon encapsulation, ferritin shell greatly improved the water solubility, thermal stability, photostability, and cellular uptake activity of these small bioactive compounds. This review aims to highlight recent advances in applications of ferritin cage as a novel vehicle in the field of food science and nutrition. Future outlooks are highlighted with the aim to suggest a research line to follow for further studies.
authors.affiliation: a Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health , College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Functional Dairy, Ministry of Education , Beijing , P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jiachen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zang
authors.affiliation: a Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health , College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Functional Dairy, Ministry of Education , Beijing , P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: a Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health , College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Functional Dairy, Ministry of Education , Beijing , P. R. China.
authors.forename: Guanghua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: a Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health , College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Functional Dairy, Ministry of Education , Beijing , P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fudi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health , College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Functional Dairy, Ministry of Education , Beijing , P. R. China.|b Beijing Laboratory for Food Quality and Safety , Beijing , P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fazheng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D004339:Drug Compounding / Q000379:methods*; D004355:Drug Stability; D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D005502:Food; D007501:Iron; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron
keywords: Ferritin; bioactive nutrients; encapsulation and delivery; self-assembly property; shell-like structure