Surface receptor-targeted Protein-based nanocarriers for drug delivery: Advances in cancer therapy

Abstract Significant progress has been made in cancer therapy with protein-based nanocarriers targeted directly to surface receptors for drug delivery. The nanocarriers are a potentially effective solution for the potential drawbacks of traditional chemotherapy, such as lack of specificity, side effects, and development resistance. Peptides as nanocarriers have been designed based on their biocompatible, biodegradable, and versatile functions to deliver therapeutic agents into cancer cells, reduce systemic toxicity, and maximize therapy efficacy through utilizing targeted ligands such as antibodies, amino acids, vitamins, and other small molecules onto protein-based nanocarriers and thus ensuring that drugs selectively accumulate in the cancer cells instead of healthy organs/drug release at a target site without effects on normal cells, which inherently caused less systemic toxicity/off-target effect. Moreover, their intrinsic protein backbone naturally degrades in vivo, providing another level of safety over synthetic materials. Various issues like immunogenicity, mass production, and quality control must be addressed for widespread use. However, further studies are necessary to perfect protein engineering and improve drug loading, protein modification, and targeting. Thus, it can be concluded that protein-based nanocarriers targeted against the surface receptors would help achieve cancer management in a more focused manner, thus minimizing toxicity. The further development of these nanoparticles could bring a significant change in cancer treatment so that more personalized, targeted, and safe therapies would be available to all patients.