Milk protein-based nanodelivery systems for the cancer treatment

The numerous advantages that nanotechnology can bring to the design of pharmaceutical delivery systems are perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in the area of cancer treatment. These nanostructures not only can improve the anti-proliferative properties of the drugs but also ameliorate the side effects by providing site-specific drug delivery. Furthermore, food-based proteins, due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability, provide a ready-made ingredient as a carrier for various chemotherapeutic agents. The most popular proteins in this field are milk proteins including β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), lactoferrin (LF), and the caseins (CN), all of which have desirable properties to make them ideal for this purpose. Grafting these two approaches, different milk protein-based nanodrugs have been synthesized that show promising potential in providing more targeted delivery of drugs thereby reducing the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy. In some cases, being encapsulated in these proteins (in nanoscale), the chemotherapeutic agents can be consumed orally while enhancing site-specific delivery. This article reviews various nanodrug delivery systems containing milk proteins, which are designed for cancer treatment. Moreover, their physical and their anti-proliferative characteristics are briefly described.