Figure 2.

Nanomaterials as scaffolds for protein (biomolecule) binding: nanomaterials have the right size and shape for interacting with transport proteins such as apolipoproteins, offering them access to all cells via the low-density lipoprotein receptor (a). (b) Schematic illustration of the nanoparticle corona formed from lung surfactant proteins. Structure of native low-density lipoprotein (c) and synthetic nano low-density lipoprotein (d) designed for nanomedicine. Various compartments for loading exogenous agents are shown including protein loading via covalent attachment of compounds to lysine amino acid residues in apolipoprotein B-100 or surface loading: intercalation of amphiphilic compounds into the phospholipid monolayer. Core loading can also be achieved via reconstitution of hydrophobic compounds into the nanocarrier apolar core. Adapted from Corbin & Zheng [3]. (Online version in colour.)