Casein nanoformulations - Potential biomaterials in theranostics

• Published in: Food bioscience 2022-12, Vol.50, p.102200, Article 102200
• Main Authors: Khatun, Sajmina, Appidi, Tejaswini, Rengan, Aravind Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; amino acids; Anticancer drug delivery; biocompatibility; biocompatible materials; blood-brain barrier; calcium phosphates; casein; Casein micelles; cognition; crosslinking; drugs; encapsulation; Iron deficiency anaemia; iron deficiency anemia; micelles; nanotechnology; neurons; peptides; phosphoproteins; precision medicine; Tissue engineering
• ISSN: 2212-4292; 2212-4306
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2022.102200

Casein is a milk protein emerging as a potential nanosystem for applications in therapy and diagnosis. Casein consists of four major phosphoproteins with their homologous primary amino acid sequences into the following families αs1, αs2, β, and κ-casein. In the aqueous phase, casein forms micelles binding with colloidal calcium phosphate. Biocompatibility, high drug binding/encapsulation capability, potential to cross the blood-brain barrier, and targeted cellular uptake are a few of the properties of casein micelles, enabling their application in therapy. This review discusses various components, properties, and functions of casein phosphoproteins and casein micelles. Application-specific cross-linking mechanisms and different synthesis approaches are also discussed. This review extensively explores casein's structural and functional properties and its biomedical application: targeted drug delivery and tissue engineering. The potential applications of casein-based complexes for treating iron deficiency anaemia and casein-derived peptides for inhibition of neuronal cognitive disorders are also discussed in this review. •Casein nanoparticles are biocompatible and biodegradable with applications in drug delivery, cancer therapy, tissue engineering, etc.•Casein nanosystems can be synthesized using various techniques to suit various applications.•Casein nanoparticles can successfully be applied for targeted drug delivery and sustained drug release.•Casein scaffolds aid in expressing matrix proteins and developing mature tissue, demonstrating their application for tissue engineering.•Casein nanoparticles can translocate across the blood-brain barrier and can be used to treat neuronal disorders.