Microbial Compartments and Their Biomedical Applications

Microbial compartments (MCs) are nanostructures mainly composed of proteins and functionally similar to the organelles of eukaryotes. Therefore, MCs are also termed as protein cages. In MCs, toxic or vulnerable metabolic intermediates are spatially isolated from interaction with cytoplasmic substances. Therefore, MCs play crucial roles in bacterial pathogenesis and biological processes. With increasing advanced knowledge of the functional and structural properties of MCs, we are able to regulate the assembly, structures, compositions, and functions for various purposes. Recently, this has ignited great enthusiasm for the potential of MCs to be applied in biomedical fields such as imaging and diagnosis of diseases, as well as drug delivery systems, therapeutics, and vaccines for the treatment of diseases. In this chapter, we aim to give an overview of great achievements in the bioengineering of these versatile nanomaterials and highlight the prospects for future research in this field.