Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Zihui Weng
Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Ziyang Zhao
Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Jiayun Xu
Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Zhenhui Qi
Sino-German Joint Research Lab for Space Biomaterials and Translational Technology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Junqiu Liu
Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used as target delivery vehicles for therapeutic goods; however, compared with inorganic and organic nanomaterials, protein nanomaterials have better biocompatibility and can self-assemble into highly ordered cage-like structures, which are more favorable for applications in targeted drug delivery. In this review, we concentrate on the typical protein cage nanoparticles drugs encapsulation processes, such as drug fusion expression, diffusion, electrostatic contact, covalent binding, and protein cage disassembly/recombination. The usage of protein cage nanoparticles in biomedicine is also briefly discussed. These materials can be utilized to transport small molecules, peptides, siRNA, and other medications for anti-tumor, contrast, etc.
