These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Adaptations of nanoscale viruses and other protein cages for medical applications.
    Author: Lee LA, Wang Q.
    Journal: Nanomedicine; 2006 Sep; 2(3):137-49. PubMed ID: 17292136.
    Abstract:
    Nanosized materials (5-100 nm) with multiple functionalities (cell targeting, drug delivery, and bio-imaging) have emerged over the recent years as promising therapeutic agents. Liposomal carriers, amphiphilic co-polymers, silica-based particles, colloidal systems, and dendrimer clusters are among the many available nanoscale scaffolds that have been explored for medical applications such as gene delivery, bio-imaging, and drug delivery. On the other hand, viruses, ferritin, and other protein cages for ages have self-organized in the nanometer range with biologically relevant functionalities. These bio-inspired systems form monodispersed units that are highly amendable through genetic and chemical modifications. In this review the expansion of these protein-based nanosystems, termed bionanoparticles (BNPs), beyond their native functionalities, and their application as building materials for nanomedicine will be discussed. The recent developments of biology-inspired systems with potential medical applications will be outlined, with particular emphasis on adaptations of protein-based nanostructures for gene delivery, bio-imaging, drug encapsulation, and vaccine development. Notable systems already streamlined for medical applications are recombinant virus-like particles derived from human papillomaviruses as multivalent vaccine carriers to immunize patients against genital infections, and vaccinia viruses to treat patients with established cancers.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]