Ferritin: A Promising Nanoreactor and Nanocarrier for Bionanotechnology

The essence of bionanotechnologylies in the application of nanotechnology/nanomaterialsto solve the biological problems. Quantum dots and nanoparticles holdpotential biomedical applications, but their inherent problems suchas low solubility and associated toxicity due to their interactionsat nonspecific target sites is a major concern. The self-assembled,thermostable, ferritin protein nanocages possessing natural iron scavengingability have emerged as a potential solution to all the above-mentionedproblems by acting as nanoreactor and nanocarrier. Ferritins, thecellular iron repositories, are hollow, spherical, symmetric multimericprotein nanocages, which sequester the excess of free Fe-(II) and synthesizeiron biominerals (Fe2O3 & BULL;H2O)inside their & SIM;5-8 nm central cavity. The electrostaticsand dynamics of the pore residues not only drives the natural substrateFe(2+) inside ferritin nanocages but also uptakes a set ofother metals ions/counterions during in vitro synthesisof nanomaterial. The current review aims to report the recent developments/understandingon ferritin structure (self-assembly, surface/pores electrostatics,metal ion binding sites) and chemistry occurring inside these supramolecularprotein cages (protein mediated metal ion uptake and mineralization/nanoparticleformation) along with its surface modification to exploit them forvarious nanobiotechnological applications. Furthermore, a better understandingof ferritin self-assembly would be highly useful for optimizing theincorporation of nanomaterials via the disassembly/reassemblyapproach. Several studies have reported the successful engineeringof these ferritin protein nanocages in order to utilize them as potentialnanoreactor for synthesizing/incorporating nanoparticles and as nanocarrierfor delivering imaging agents/drugs at cell specific target sites.Therefore, the combination of nanoscience (nanomaterials) and bioscience(ferritin protein) projects several benefits for various applicationsranging from electronics to medicine.

Automated summary

Bionanotechnology applies nanomaterials to solve biological problems, with ferritin protein nanocages emerging as a potential solution due to their self-assembly, thermal stability, and natural iron scavenging ability.