Unraveling the Formation of Gelatin Nanospheres by Means of Desolvation

Overview

Journal Nano Lett

Publisher American Chemical Society

Specialty Biotechnology

Date 2023 Nov 15

PMID 37967168

Authors

Negar Hassani Besheli

Martijn Martens

Elena Macias-Sanchez

Jos Olijve

Fang Yang

Nico Sommerdijk

Sander C G Leeuwenburgh

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) have been widely studied for a plethora of biomedical applications, but their formation mechanism remains poorly understood, which precludes precise control over their physicochemical properties. This leads to time-consuming parameter adjustments without a fundamental grasp of the underlying mechanism. Here, we analyze and visualize in a time-resolved manner the mechanism by which GNPs are formed during desolvation of gelatin as a function of gelatin molecular weight and type of desolvating agent. Through various analytical and imaging techniques, we unveil a multistage process that is initiated by the formation of primary particles that are ∼18 nm in diameter (wet state). These primary particles subsequently assemble into colloidally stable GNPs with a raspberry-like structure and a hydrodynamic diameter of ∼300 nm. Our results create a basic understanding of the formation mechanism of gelatin nanoparticles, which opens new opportunities for precisely tuning their physicochemical and biofunctional properties.

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PMID: 38181574 PMC: 10872380. DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122464.

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