Albumin Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems
Summary
Albumin nanoparticles exploit the inherent biocompatibility, biodegradability and abundant binding sites of serum albumin to ferry therapeutic agents in vivo. Their preparation typically involves mild, aqueous‐phase methods such as desolvation, emulsification or nanoprecipitation, which avoid harsh solvents and preserve protein integrity. Particle size and surface charge can be tuned to optimise circulation time, bioavailability and tissue penetration, while surface functionalisation permits attachment of targeting ligands or stealth polymers. Albumin nanoparticles harness endogenous transport pathways—particularly receptor-mediated transcytosis via endothelial gp60 and SPARC proteins—to enhance tumour accumulation and enable delivery across physiological barriers, including the blood–brain barrier. Clinically, they have advanced anticancer drug delivery (notably paclitaxel in nanoparticle albumin-bound form), and are under investigation for anti-inflammatory agents, gene therapeutics and imaging probes. Current research focuses on stimuli-responsive release, multimodal imaging integration and bespoke surface chemistry to overcome drug resistance, reduce off-target toxicity and extend applications to neurological and infectious diseases.
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Albumin Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in albumin nanoparticle drug delivery systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Serum albumin: The most abundant plasma protein with multiple binding sites for drugs and endogenous ligands.
Desolvation: A nanoparticle formation technique in which a desolvating agent induces protein precipitation into colloidal particles.
Encapsulation efficiency: The percentage of input drug that is successfully entrapped within the nanoparticles.
Receptor-mediated transcytosis: Endothelial transport process whereby albumin binds surface receptors (e.g., gp60) for vesicular shuttling across cells.
Stimuli-responsive release: Controlled drug liberation triggered by environmental factors such as pH, redox potential or enzymatic activity.
References
- Research progress of serum albumin in the field of drug delivery. Interdisciplinary Medicine (2024).
- Albumin-based nanoparticles: a promising strategy to overcome cancer drug resistance. Cancer Drug Resistance (2020).
- Strategies for Preparing Albumin-based Nanoparticles for Multifunctional Bioimaging and Drug Delivery. Theranostics (2017).
- Gp60 Activation Mediates Albumin Transcytosis in Endothelial Cells by Tyrosine Kinase-dependent Pathway*. Journal of Biological Chemistry (1997).
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