Albumin: Source, preparation, determination, applications, and prospects

Albumin is a water-soluble protein that has attracted attention due to its characteristics, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-immunogenicity, long half-life, minimal toxicity, good stability, and good reactivity. These good characteristics make albumin can be applied in various fields. Albumin can be used in medical and pharmacy as drug delivery and infusion therapy. In addition, albumin is an agent to accelerate wound healing and antioxidant therapy. Albumin is also applied as a supporting material, a corrosion inhibitor, and a biosensor for analytical measurement purposes. The applications of albumin are reviewed in this article. This paper is also designed to summarize the albumin sources. Albumin is found in human serum, animals (i.e., cow, chicken, salmon, etc.), and plants (i.e., peanuts, sunflower, passion fruit, etc.) sources. Each region has its unique source of albumin to be explored. Various studies have reported albumin preparation and separation methods, including chromatography, solvent extraction, electrophoresis, and adsorption methods. The determination of albumin using spectroscopy and electrochemical methods is also described in this article. In addition, the challenges and prospects of albumin are also discussed.