nutrients Review Lactoferrin and Its Detection Methods: A Review Yingqi Zhang, Chao Lu and Jin Zhang * Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada;
[email protected] (Y.Z.);
[email protected] (C.L.) * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Lactoferrin (LF) is one of the major functional proteins in maintaining human health due to its antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activities. Abnormal levels of LF in the human body are related to some serious diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s disease and dry eye disease. Recent studies indicate that LF can be used as a biomarker for diagnosis of these diseases. Many methods have been developed to detect the level of LF. In this review, the biofunctions of LF and its potential to work as a biomarker are introduced. In addition, the current methods of detecting lactoferrin have been presented and discussed. We hope that this review will inspire efforts in the development of new sensing systems for LF detection. Keywords: lactoferrin; biomarkers; immunoassay; instrumental analysis; sensor 1. Introduction Lactoferrin (known as lactotransferrin, LF), with a molecular weight of about 80 kDa, is a functional glycoprotein, which contains about 690 amino acid residues. It was first isolated from bovine milk by Sorensen in 1939 and was first isolated from human milk by Citation: Zhang, Y.; Lu, C.; Zhang, J. Johanson in 1960 [1,2]. The three-dimensional structure of LF has been unveiled by high Lactoferrin and Its Detection resolution X-ray crystallographic analysis, and it consists of two homologous globular lobes Methods: A Review.