Preparation, Characterization, and Applications of Albumin Serum-Based Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles made of albumin have shown great application value in the field of medicine as drug carriers because of their excellent biocompatibility. Albumin-based nanoparticles are generally produced through a desolvation process, which can be strongly affected by pH, temperature, and other desolvating chemicals including ethanol and acetone. In recent years, albumin has been used as a carrier in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer, HIV, hepatitis, and influenza. Albumin has been shown to be a nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable protein carrier for drug delivery. This review deals with the synthesis of albumin-based nanoparticles and, their characterization through analytical techniques, and their applications. The major characterization techniques include UV-Visible Spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Field Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). These albumin-based nanoparticles provide an added advantage over other available nanoparticles by being biodegradable and biocompatible. The albumin-based nanoparticles have their applications in medicine and therapeutics, agriculture, cosmetics, and the food industry.