Human Serum Albumin

Human Albumin is widely used as an excipient in drug formulation, as a component of cell culture media, for drug delivery, cryopreservation of cells, vaccine manufacturing, or coating of medical devices; ultimately making it a versatile agent in pharmaceutical and biotechnological products.1-3

In addition to Albumin’s use as a stabilizer in liquid and lyophilized protein solutions, it has long been used in both research and commercial settings as a component of growth media and tissue culture.1,4

The usefulness of Albumin as a component of media is that it is incorporated into cell culture in conjunction with growth factors and other peptides. In addition, Albumin can bind to the outer surface of the cell membrane through non-specific adsorption, thereby providing cell protection. This role is particularly evident in bioreactors, where Albumin prevents physical damage to cells caused by hydrodynamic stress.

Albumin is also used successfully as a stabilizer in a variety of vaccines5, including vaccines against rabies, TBE and measles, mumps and rubella.

References:
1) Francis GL (2010) Albumin and mammalian cell culture: implications for biotechnology applications. Cytotechnology 62: 1-16

2) Elsadek B, Kratz F (2012) Impact of albumin on drug delivery – new applications on the horizon. J. Control release 157: 4-28

3) Larsen MT et al. (2016) Albumin based drug delivery: harnessing nature to cure disease. Mol Cell Ther 27; 4:3

4) Shahin H et al (2020) Human serum albumin as a clinically accepted cell carrier solution for skin regenerative application. Nature Research Scientific Reports (2020) 10:14486

5) Marth E, Kleinhappl B (2001) Albumin is a necessary stabilizer of TBE-vaccine to avoid fever in children after vaccination Vaccine  Nov 12;20 (3-4):532-7