Protein nanocages have been explored as potential carriers in biomedicine. Formed by the self-assembly of protein subunits, the caged structure has three surfaces that can be engineered: the interior, the exterior and the intersubunit. Therapeutic and diagnostic molecules have been loaded in the interior of nanocages, while their external surfaces have been engineered to enhance their biocompatibility and targeting abilities. Modifications of the intersubunit interactions have been shown to modulate the self-assembly profile with implications for tuning the molecular release. We review natural and synthetic protein nanocages that have been modified using chemical and genetic engineering techniques to impart non-natural functions that are responsive to the complex cellular microenvironment of malignant cells while delivering molecular cargos with improved efficiencies and minimal toxicity.

蛋白质纳米笼已被研究为生物医学中的潜在载体。笼状结构由蛋白质亚基的自组装形成，具有三个可以工程化的表面：内部，外部和亚基。治疗性和诊断性分子已被装入纳米笼的内部，而其外表面经过工程设计以增强其生物相容性和靶向能力。已显示亚基间相互作用的修饰可调节自组装特征，并具有调节分子释放的意义。