Opportunities and Challenges in Protein Nano Cage Applications

Abstract

The variety of protein nano cages, as well as applications they have been tested for, is
so considerable that it has become laborious trying to identify the specific features that
lead a hypothetical structure to production, modification, application and ultimate
breakdown smoothly and successfully. For example, several studies have been carried
out which involved the modification of ferritin to target cancer cells by genetic
engineering, all the while the knowledge existed that ferritin is already preferentially
taken up by cancer cells because they produce more ferritin receptors than healthy
cells (Liang et al., 2014). Similarly, other studies have produced protein nano cage
versions without necessarily first examining them in silico perhaps due to a lack of
awareness of obscure simulation software.
This analysis aims to curate the existing findings on protein nano cage applications,
with a special focus on the opportunities and challenges faced at each step in their
implementation, based on the common features of these molecules. The main features
of design, manufacture, modification and recycling will be highlighted and referred back
to the implications they raise in the ultimate protein nano cage applications.