Hydrophobicity-enhanced ferritin nanoparticles for efficient encapsulation and targeted delivery of hydrophobic drugs to tumor cells.

ABSTRACT: Ferritin, a naturally occurring iron storage protein, has gained significant attention as a drug delivery platform due to its inherent biocompatibility and capacity to encapsulate therapeutic agents. In this study, we successfully genetically engineered human H ferritin by incorporating 4 or 6 tryptophan residues per subunit, strategically oriented towards the inner cavity of the nanoparticle. This modification aimed to enhance the encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs into the ferritin cage. Comprehensive characterization of the mutants revealed that only the variant carrying four tryptophan substitutions per subunit retained the ability to disassemble and reassemble properly. As a proof of concept, we evaluated the loading capacity of this mutant with ellipticine, a natural hydrophobic indo

SUBMITTER: Incocciati A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10661074 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature