title: Albumin nanostructures as advanced drug delivery systems.
abstract: One of the biggest impacts that the nanotechnology has made on medicine and biology, has been in the area of drug delivery systems (DDSs). Many drugs suffer from serious problems concerning insolubility, instability in biological environments, poor uptake into cells and tissues, sub-optimal selectivity for targets and unwanted side effects. Nanocarriers can be designed as DDSs to overcome many of these drawbacks. One of the most versatile building blocks to prepare these nanocarriers is the ubiquitous, readily available and inexpensive protein, serum albumin. Areas covered: This review covers the use of different types of albumin (human, bovine, rat, and chicken egg) to prepare nanoparticle and microparticle-based structures to bind drugs. Various methods have been used to modify the albumin structure. A range of targeting ligands can be attached to the albumin that can be recognized by specific cell receptors that are expressed on target cells or tissues. Expert opinion: The particular advantages of albumin used in DDSs include ready availability, ease of chemical modification, good biocompatibility, and low immunogenicity. The regulatory approvals that have been received for several albumin-based therapeutic agents suggest that this approach will continue to be successfully explored.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine , Iran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine , Iran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.|b Nanomedicine Research Association (NRA) , Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN) , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Sajad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahrami
authors.affiliation: c Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering , University of North Carolina at Greensboro , Greensboro , NC , USA.
authors.forename: Soodeh Baghaee
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Ravari
authors.affiliation: d Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Sharif University of Technology , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Parham Sahandi
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Zangabad
authors.affiliation: e Advanced Nanobiotechnology and Nanomedicine Research Group (ANNRG) , Iran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mirshekari
authors.affiliation: f Department of Applied Chemistry , Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Mahnaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozorgomid
authors.affiliation: g Department of Microbiology, School of Biology , University College of Sciences, University of Tehran , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Somayeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahreza
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine , Iran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Masume
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sori
authors.affiliation: h Wellman Center for Photomedicine , Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston , MA , USA.|i Department of Dermatology , Harvard Medical School , Boston , MA , USA.|j Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology , Cambridge , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hamblin
mesh_terms: D000418:Albumins / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D053758:Nanoparticles; D049329:Nanostructures; D036103:Nanotechnology; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000418:Albumins; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008024:Ligands; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations
keywords: Human serum albumin; bovine serum albumin; drug delivery systems; nanoparticles; ovalbumin