The application of ferritin in transporting and binding diverse metal ions.

Jincan Wu, Yue Li, Huimin Wu, Haotong Zhang, Xinmei Sha, Junrui Ma, Rui Yang

Journal: Food chemistry 2024;439():138132

PMID: 38081094

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Abstract

The ferritin cage can not only load iron ions in its inner cavity, but also has the capacity to carry other metal ions, thus constructing a new biological nano-transport system. The nanoparticles formed by ferritin and minerals can be used as ingredients of mineral supplements, which overcome the shortcomings of traditional mineral ingredients such as low bioavailability. Moreover, ferritin can be used to remove heavy metal ions from contaminated food. Silver and palladium nanoparticles formed by ferritin are also applied as anticancer agents. Ferritin combined with metal ions can be also used to detect harmful substances. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of ferritin's function in transporting and binding metal ions, and discusses the limitations and future prospects, which offers valuable insights for the application of ferritin in mineral supplements, food detoxifiers, anticancer agents, and food detections.

Address: State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.; State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.138132

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MeSH Terms: Ferritins, Metal Nanoparticles, Palladium, Minerals, Antineoplastic Agents, Ions