Whey protein: A functional and promising material for drug delivery systems recent developments and future prospects

Abstract

Natural polymers have been extensively utilized in the past decades due to their outstanding features. Among these natural excipients, protein‐based polymers have superb features owing to their high drug binding capacity and biodegradability. Whey protein is a versatile protein‐based vehicle for drug delivery systems. It has been shown to be nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable. Therefore, it has been considered as an ideal biomaterial for the design of advanced drug delivery systems. Protein‐based cargo acts as synthetic polymers counterpart for innovative delivery systems. The current review is mainly focused on application of whey proteins as an emerging carrier in drug delivery systems, achieved during the past.

New Developments in Medical Applications of Hybrid Hydrogels Containing Natural Polymers

“…The level of versatility and In the field of controlled and sustained drug delivery systems, SF based hydrogels were tested using as model drugs curcumin [408] and hydrophobic/hydrophilic drugs, namely aspirin and indomethacin [409], where the synthetic part was represented by PVA and PLA-PEG-PLA copolymer, respectively. WPI based hydrogels can be used as bioresponsive carriers for controlled release of biomolecules and drugs [410], as they exhibit good pH-sensitivity and protects the entrapped drug from degradation by its grafting onto synthetic polymers resulting co-polymers. An example was reported by Aderibigbe and Ndwabu [411] who prepared by simultaneous redox cross-linked polymerization an WPI-g-carbopol polyacrylamide based hydrogel loaded with pamidronate, (nitrogen containing bisphosphonate), to treat the skeletal disorders in children, osteoporosis and bone cancer.…”

Development and Characterization of Whey Protein-Based Nano-Delivery Systems: A Review

“…The binding affinity of retinol to β -lg was also slightly diminished as pH was decreased from 7.0 to 5.2 [19]. The binding ability of whey proteins with hydrophobic BCs, including vitamin D 3 and retinol, could make them effective and reliable delivery materials for encapsulating and protecting hydrophobic BCs [5,27].…”

“…The use of NDSs has become a promising tool to increase the bioavailability of entrapped BCs because the small size of NDSs, together with their large surface area, may offer prolonged gastrointestinal residence time and improve the mucosal adhesion to small intestine and the interaction with gut cells [2,3,4]. Although both synthetic and natural materials have been successfully used to develop NDSs, the use of synthetic materials may not be appropriate for the application to foods due to the potential toxicity problem and demand for generally recognized as safe (GRAS) ingredients [5,6]. Therefore, it is highly recommended that food-grade materials are used for the production of NDSs.…”

“…The functional properties of whey proteins and manufacturing methods of whey protein-based NDSs have been reported in previous studies [5,13]. Many review papers focused on the physicochemical properties of NDSs [5,7,13].…”

“…The functional properties of whey proteins and manufacturing methods of whey protein-based NDSs have been reported in previous studies [5,13]. Many review papers focused on the physicochemical properties of NDSs [5,7,13]. However, the modulation of physicochemical properties of whey protein-based NDSs, especially using mild heat-induced gelation and chemical modification processes, and their impacts on the delivery of BCs and food applications, have not been extensively studied.…”