Advanced search×

Albumin as a drug carrier: Design of prodrugs, drug conjugates and nanoparticles

Felix F Kratz

J Control Release 132(3):13 (2008) PMID 18582981

Albumin is playing an increasing role as a drug carrier in the clinical setting. Principally, three drug delivery technologies can be distinguished: coupling of low-molecular weight drugs to exogenous or endogenous albumin, conjugation with bioactive proteins and encapsulation of drugs into albumin nanoparticles. The accumulation of albumin in solid tumors forms the rationale for developing albumin-based drug delivery systems for tumor targeting. Clinically, a methotrexate-albumin conjugate, an albumin-binding prodrug of doxorubicin, i.e. the (6-maleimido)caproylhydrazone derivative of doxorubicin (DOXO-EMCH), and an albumin paclitaxel nanoparticle (Abraxane) have been evaluated clinically. Abraxane has been approved for treating metastatic breast cancer. An alternative strategy is to bind a therapeutic peptide or protein covalently or physically to albumin to enhance its stability and half-life. This approach has been applied to peptides with antinociceptive, antidiabetes, antitumor or antiviral activity: Levemir, a myristic acid derivative of insulin that binds to the fatty acid binding sites of circulating albumin, has been approved for the treatment of diabetes. Furthermore, Albuferon, a fusion protein of albumin and interferon, is currently being assessed in phase III clinical trials for the treatment of hepatitis C and could become an alternative to pegylated interferon. This review gives an account of the different drug delivery systems which make use of albumin as a drug carrier with a focus on those systems that have reached an advanced stage of preclinical evaluation or that have entered clinical trials.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2008.05.010
Version: za2963e q8zad q8zbb q8zc6 q8zd6 q8zeb q8zf2 q8zg6

Similar articles you may find interesting…

  1. The serum protein binding of pharmacologically active gallium(III) compounds assessed by hyphenated CE-MS techniques.
    Michael Groessl, Anna Bytzek, and Christian G Hartinger

    Electrophoresis 30(15):2720-7 (2009) PMID 19621374

    Transition metal-based drugs exhibit high affinity to the soft donors of human serum proteins, especially of the high-abundance protein HSA and of transferrin (Tf), whereas Ga(III) salts are known to bind to Tf and other iron-containing metalloproteins, thereby interfering with the i...
  2. A versatile approach for assaying in vitro metallodrug metabolism using CE hyphenated with ICP-MS.
    Jan K JK Abramski, Lidia S LS Foteeva, ... Maciej M Jarosz

    Analyst 134(10):1999-2002 (2009) PMID 19768206

    An informative analytical method, based on commercially available capillary electrophoresis (CE), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and interface units, was developed for ascertaining possible metabolic transformations of metal-based drugs. Using a novel anticancer gallium compou...
  3. Probing the stability of serum protein-ruthenium(III) drug adducts in the presence of extracellular reductants using CE.
    Andrei R AR Timerbaev, Lidia S LS Foteeva, ... Bernhard K BK Keppler

    Electrophoresis 28(13):2235-40 (2007) PMID 17557359

    I study. The CE method was adapted, in zone electrophoresis and affinity CE modes, to make obvious that such transformation would take place in the hypoxic tumor tissue rather than in the bloodstream. Indeed, no measurable effect of extracellular concentration levels of glutathione incorporated into...