GELATIN NANOENCAPSULATION OF PROTEIN PEPTIDE DRUGS USING AN EMULSIFIER-FREE EMULSION METHOD/

The nanoencapsulation of a model protein drug, bovine serum albumin (B SA), using gelatin as the matrix material is reported. Nanoencapsulati on was conducted using a modified water-in-oil (w/o) emulsion method, which is emulsifier-free and simple. The nanoencapsulation product, BS A-containing gelatin nanoparticles, is characterized in terms of nanop article morphology, size and size distribtion, water content, and in v itro protein release. The BSA-containing gelatin nanoparticles obtaine d from this nanoencapsulation process are nearly spherical and have a log-normal size distribution. The average diameter of the BSA-containi ng gelatin nanoparticles is approximately 840 nm. They can absorb 51-7 2% of water. In vitro release experiments demonstrate that BSA has bee n successfully encapsulated in, and can be released from the gelatin n anoparticles. The release of BSA from the gelatin nanoparticulate matr ix follows a diffusion-controlled release mechanism. It is found that temperature affects both the water content and the BSA release rate of the gelatin nanoparticles.