Albumin is a natural biomaterial that is abundantly available in blood and body fluids. It is clinically used as a plasma expander, thereby increasing the plasma thiol concentration due to its cysteine residues. Albumin is a regulator of intervascular oncotic pressure, serves as an anti-inflammatory modulator, and it has a buffering role due to its histidine imidazole residues. Because of its unique biological and physical properties, albumin has also emerged as a suitable biomaterial for coating implantable devices, for cell and drug delivery, and as a scaffold for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. As a biomaterial, albumin can be used as surface-modifying film or processed either as cross-linked protein gels or as electrospun fibers. Herein we have discussed how albumin protein can be utilized in regenerative medicine as a hydrogel and as a fibrous mat for a diverse role in successfully delivering drugs, genes, and cells to targeted tissues and organs. The review of prior studies indicated that albumin is a tunable biomaterial from which different types of scaffolds with mechanical properties adjustable for various biomedical applications can be fabricated. Based on the progress made to date, we concluded that albumin-based device coatings, delivery of drugs, genes, and cells are promising strategies in regenerative and personalized medicine.
Keywords: biomolecule and gene delivery; cell delivery; electrospinning; gels; globular albumin.