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Review
. 2025 Mar;20(5):481-500.
doi: 10.1080/17435889.2025.2459056. Epub 2025 Feb 3.

Design and application of ferritin-based nanomedicine for targeted cancer therapy

Baoli Zhang  1 , Kelong Fan  2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Design and application of ferritin-based nanomedicine for targeted cancer therapy

Baoli Zhang et al. Nanomedicine (Lond). 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Owing to its unique structure and favorable biocompatibility, ferritin has been widely studied as a promising drug carrier over the past two decades. Since the identification of its inherent tumor-targeting property due to unique recognition ablity of the transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), ferritin-based nanomedicine has attracted widespread attention and triggered a research surge in the field of targeted cancer therapy. Along with progress in structure studies and modification technology, diverse strategies have been carried out to equip ferritin with on-demand functions, further improving the antitumor efficacy and in vivo safety of ferritin-based cancer therapy. In this review, we highlight the structure-based rational design of ferritin and summarize the design strategies in detail from two main perspectives: multifunctional modification and drug loading. In particular, the critical issues that need attention in the design are discussed in depth. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the latest advances in the application of ferritin-based nanomedicines in chemotherapy, phototherapy and immunotherapy, with particular emphasis on emerging therapeutic approaches among these therapies.

Keywords: Ferritin; TfR1; cancer therapy; drug delivery; nanomedicine; tumor targeting.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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