Albumin nanoparticles—A versatile and a safe platform for drug delivery applications

Nanotechnology is a platform long been used as a delivery system for encapsulating therapeutics and/or imaging compounds that are employed for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various diseases. Among the available potential colloidal drug carrier systems, albumin has emerged as a versatile protein used as a carrier system that has been extensively researched for pharmacokinetics and clinical applications. The albumin-based nanoparticles are particularly interesting as attractive macromolecular carriers that are biodegradable and hold great value in the field of nanomedicine due to being well-tolerated without any side effects, having high drug-loading capacity, and with binding efficiency with many drugs, providing a depot and carrier for many small and large molecules alike. Human serum albumin, the most abundant protein present in the human blood, has been used as a carrier in the landmark nanomedicine product, Abraxane (paclitaxel-albumin nanoparticles), establishing its clinical advantage. This chapter deliberates on the design and synthesis of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems that make use of albumin as a drug carrier system and elaborates on their applications in various therapeutic conditions.