Xylan, a hemicelllulose extracted from corn cobs, was used to prepare micro
and nanoparticles. First, a chemical evaluation of xylan extract was perfo
rmed. Then, particles were prepared by a coacervation method based on neutr
alization of an alkaline solution with an acid solution. The influence of p
olymer content (2.85 to 100 mg/ml) and surfactant presence (0.6 to 1.8%((v/
v))) on the manufacturing process was evaluated. It was demonstrated that n
eutralization of the xylan solution with HCl or acetic acid was able to gen
erate micro and nanoparticles and that surfactant concentration influences
both the particle size stability and morphology. Therefore, the: optimal co
ncentration of surfactant was 1.5%((v/v)).