Use of ferritin-based metal-encapsulated nanocarriers as anticancer agents

The ability of ferritin to bind and deliver metals and metal-based drugs to human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells was studied. We used heavy chain (H) ferritin-based metal-containing nanocarriers to test whether these constructs, which are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, may be used for the delivery of toxic molecules to brain cells, and to study their effect on the viability and cellular redox homeostasis of human neuroblastoma cells. We show that metal-containing nanocarriers are efficiently captured by SH-SY5Y cells. Iron-containing nanocarriers have a proliferative effect, while silver and cisplatin-encapsulated nanocarriers determine concentration-dependent neuroblastoma cell death. This work is a proof of concept for the use of ferritins for the delivery of toxic molecules to brain tumors.