The Janus of Protein Corona on nanoparticles for tumor targeting, immunotherapy and diagnosis

The therapeutics based on nanoparticles (NPs) are considered as the promising strategy for tumor detection and treatment. However, one of the most challenges is the adsorption of biomolecules on NPs after their exposition to biological medium, leading unpredictable in vivo behaviors. The interactions caused by protein corona (PC) will influence the biological fate of NPs in either negative or positive ways, including (i) blood circulation, accumulation and penetration of NPs at targeting sites, and further cellular uptake in tumor targeting delivery; (ii) interactions between NPs and receptors on immune cells for immunotherapy. Besides, PC on NPs could be utilized as new biomarker in tumor diagnosis by identifying the minor change of protein concentration led by tumor growth and invasion in blood. Herein, the mechanisms of these PC-mediated effects will be introduced. Moreover, the recent advances about the strategies will be reviewed to reduce negative effects caused by PC and/or utilize positive effects of PC on tumor targeting, immunotherapy and diagnosis, aiming to provide a reasonable perspective to recognize PC with their applications.