Therapeutic proteins aggregation

Cleland, J.L., Powell, M.F., and Shire, S.J. 1993. The development of stable protein formulations a close look at protein aggregation, deamidation and oxidation. Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems 10(4), 3,01-ill. 

Nanoparticles or other nanoconstructs have the special advantage that their small diameters allow penetration into tissues, translocation, and diffusion in the body where microparticles may be hindered. Small size at the limit (where the drug molecules approach the size of the carrier as with dendrimers) however, often means low loading capacity of individual particles and, at the limit, a large carrier/drug ratio. At the other end of the scale, some nanoparticles consist only of active, as in drug nanosuspensions or aggregates of therapeutic proteins. 

As described below, pressure studies might also lead to a better understanding of the interactions that lead to protein aggregation and will thus enhance our ability to design inhibitors and therapeutics for aggregation driven diseases. 

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