Self-assembly of protein-polymer conjugates for drug delivery

Protein-, (Poly)peptide-, and Amino Acid-Based Nanostructures Prepared via Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly

“…Over the last few years, amphiphilic protein-polymer conjugates have received considerable attention for use as a new class of nanocarriers for drug delivery [13], bioimaging agents [46], and protein therapeutics [47] due to their exceptional degradability [48] and biocompatibility [49]. Some native proteins display undesirable properties, such as reduced stability under non-physiological conditions and enhanced susceptibility to enzymatic degradation, thus giving rise to issues such as unfavorable immunogenic reactions [50].…”

“…Protein-polymer conjugates address these issues by providing improved properties; both components render beneficial characteristics to the resulting conjugate (i.e., proteins offer good bio-functionality, whereas polymers provide increased solubility and stability, as well as improved circulation half-life and biodistribution) [51]. Hydrophilic proteins, such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA), have been typically selected as the corona-forming component for preparation of amphiphilic protein-polymer conjugates due to being abundantly present in living organisms and easy to isolate and modify [13,52,53]. PISA has recently emerged as an efficient, facile strategy for generating such protein-polymer hybrid nanostructures.…”

“…Their critical role in regulating the majority of biochemical processes, as well as the transport and storage of nutrients and other signaling molecules within living organisms [1,2], has directed a significant part of scientific research toward understanding, utilizing, and mimicking these biomacromolecules for various biomedical applications, including nanomedicine [3][4][5], biocatalysis [6,7], enzyme-mediated therapy [8,9], and tissue engineering [10,11]. Nonetheless, proteins and natural peptides often exhibit poor stability, reduced circulation times in vivo and increased immunogenicity, considerably limiting their applicability [12,13]. A common strategy employed to improve their biophysical properties involves their functionalization with synthetic polymers for preparation of protein/peptide-polymer conjugates and hybrid nano-assemblies [14][15][16][17].…”

“…Over the past decade, polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) has emerged as a powerful method for the simultaneous synthesis and solution self-assembly of block Polymers 2021, 13, 2603 2 of 18 copolymers in a range of media [23][24][25]. In contrast to traditional post-polymerization selfassembly techniques, such as solvent-switch or thin-film rehydration, PISA enables the in situ formation of block copolymer nano-objects at high solids contents (up to 50% w/w) [26].…”

A Water‐Soluble Organic Photocatalyst Discovered for Highly Efficient Additive‐Free Visible‐Light‐Driven Grafting of Polymers from Proteins at Ambient and Aqueous Environments

“…[4][5][6] As a result, more than 16 PEGylated protein drugs have received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have been used clinically worldwide. [7] In addition to conventional PEGylated proteins, protein-polymer conjugates (PPCs) are expected to play an essential role for a variety of emerging applications such as nanomedicine, [8,9] plastics degradation, [10] protein-based membranes/columns for precious metal capture, [11,12] and enzyme catalysis in chemical synthesis via manipulating catalytic activity of enzymes in organic media. [13] Efficient and site-selective conjugation of a structurally well-defined polymer with Since the pioneering discovery of a protein bound to poly(ethylene glycol), the utility of protein-polymer conjugates (PPCs) is rapidly expanding to currently emerging applications.…”