Protein-based nanoparticles in the treatment of respiratory infectious diseases: current progress and future directions

The increasing burden of infections, heightened by the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens, emphasizes the urgent need for innovative drug delivery systems (DDS) which enhance therapeutic efficacy. Protein-based nanoparticles (NPs) from both animal and plant sources have emerged as promising DDS for anti-infectives, offering distinct advantages. For example, NPs from proteins such as albumin exploit innate receptor-mediated internalization pathways to facilitate efficient intracellular drug delivery and proteins such as lactoferrin have been noted to have inherent antiviral and antibacterial properties which can be strategically leveraged in the design of NPs for the treatment of infectious diseases. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the properties and applications of protein-based NPs for the delivery of anti-infectives. The review also highlights the potential for application of protein-based NPs in pulmonary drug delivery, where these DDS can achieve localized, high and sustained drug concentrations within the lungs in the treatment of respiratory infectious diseases. Evidence suggests that protein-based NPs can localize within the pulmonary tissue with minimal reported toxicity and therefore warrant further exploration through comprehensive clinical investigations to validate their therapeutic efficacy in patient populations. The literature search included PubMed and Google Scholar covering the period from January 2023 to February 2026.