Use of Protamine in Nanopharmaceuticals—A Review

Autor: Ivana Ruseska, Katja Fresacher, Christina Petschacher, Andreas Zimmer
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nanomaterials, Vol 11, Iss 6, p 1508 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2079-4991
DOI: 10.3390/nano11061508
Popis: Macromolecular biomolecules are currently dethroning classical small molecule therapeutics because of their improved targeting and delivery properties. Protamine-a small polycationic peptide-represents a promising candidate. In nature, it binds and protects DNA against degradation during spermatogenesis due to electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged DNA-phosphate backbone and the positively charged protamine. Researchers are mimicking this technique to develop innovative nanopharmaceutical drug delivery systems, incorporating protamine as a carrier for biologically active components such as DNA or RNA. The first part of this review highlights ongoing investigations in the field of protamine-associated nanotechnology, discussing the self-assembling manufacturing process and nanoparticle engineering. Immune-modulating properties of protamine are those that lead to the second key part, which is protamine in novel vaccine technologies. Protamine-based RNA delivery systems in vaccines (some belong to the new class of mRNA-vaccines) against infectious disease and their use in cancer treatment are reviewed, and we provide an update on the current state of latest developments with protamine as pharmaceutical excipient for vaccines.
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