Nanoparticle-protein conjugates for nanomedicine applications: design and engineering at the nano-bio interface

The latest development in nanotechnology provides nanoparticles with tunable physical properties that, once conjugated with proteins, produce effective nanoplatforms for a wide range of medicine applications. In this review, we discuss the impact of nanoparticle-protein bioconjugates on interacting biological environments. In order to provide exhaustive guidelines for the design and engineering of such systems, here, we present an overview on: (a) the current understanding of the interface between nanoparticle and protein and between the nanoparticle-protein conjugate and living organisms; (b) the available methods for conjugating proteins to nanoparticles; (c) potential applications of nanoparticleprotein in diagnostics, protein therapy and regenerative medicine; (d) recent patents based on nanoparticle-protein. The patents description highlights the enormous capability of bioconjugates in nanomedicine applicative fields.