Insight on Serum Albumin: From Structure and Biological Properties to Functional Biomaterials for Bone Repair

Serum albumin (SA), one of the most abundant proteins in blood plasma, plays essential roles in all living processes and has been used in various biomedical applications. Biomaterials fabricated from SAs (human SA, bovine SA, and ovalbumin) exhibit proper microstructure and hydrophilicity as well as remarkable biocompatibility; this makes them ideal for use in bone regeneration. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the structure, physicochemical properties, and biological features of SAs. SAs can be used to generate a wide array of biomaterials for bone repair because of their flexible structure and diverse functions, which enables us to control structure and morphology as well as modulate the biological responses with host tissue. This review summarizes the material categories, forms, and fabrication methods of SA in bone repair. Finally, concerns for future studies in biomedical fields with SA-derived biomaterials are discussed.