Biosilica-enveloped ferritin cage for more efficient drug deliveries

Ferritin (FT), a cage-protein composed of 24 subunits, may carry small molecules inside the core of cage. To enhance the potential of FT as a more functional drug carrier, FT genetically-fused with silaffin R5 peptide at N-terminus (R5FT) and silica-enveloped cage protein (SiO2/R5FT) were developed. Doxorubicin (Dox) can be loaded into cage interior by re-assembly of R5FT. The release of Dox loaded in internal cages was retarded by the...