Recently, a great interest has been paid to the development of hybrid protein-inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) for drug delivery and cancer diagnostics in order to combine the merits of both inorganic and protein nanocarriers. This review primarily discusses the most outstanding advances in the applications of the hybrids of naturally-occurring proteins with iron oxide, gadolinium, gold, silica, calcium phosphate NPs, carbon nanotubes, and quantum dots in drug delivery and cancer imaging. Various strategies that have been utilized for the preparation of protein-functionalized inorganic NPs and the mechanisms involved in the drug loading process are discussed. How can the protein functionalization overcome the limitations of colloidal stability, poor dispersibility and toxicity associated with inorganic NPs is also investigated. Moreover, issues relating to the influence of protein hybridization on the cellular uptake, tumor targeting efficiency, systemic circulation, mucosal penetration and skin permeation of inorganic NPs are highlighted. A special emphasis is devoted to the novel approaches utilizing the protein-inorganic nanohybrids in combined cancer therapy, tumor imaging, and theranostic applications as well as stimuli-responsive drug release from the nanohybrids.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	anti-cancer drug delivery, cancer imaging, inorganic nanoparticles, nanohybrids, protein nanoparticles, theranostics, tumor targeting
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences
Research Field:	Pharmaceutical sciences
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the health sciences
UTAS Author:	Hemasa, AL (Dr Ayman Hemasa)
ID Code:	117035
Year Published:	2016
Web of Science® Times Cited:	103
Deposited By:	Pharmacy
Deposited On:	2017-05-29
Last Modified:	2017-10-27
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