Title : Protein-coating as a tool for enhancing the stability of iron oxide nanoparticles
Abstract:
Magnetic nanoparticles are a promising platform offering solutions in several areas of medicine and pharmacy, in therapy and diagnostics, in the development and targeting of innovative drug carriers, and many others. Despite their versatile application and the number of advantages they offer, for example enhanced biocompatibility and reduced toxicity, increased bioavailability, relatively easy functionalization and control of the physicochemical properties, they also exhibit some disadvantages, mainly related to their stability. Agglomeration and reduced surface area, decreased dispersibility, altered biokinetics and surface chemistry sensitivity are some of the critical challenges influencing their performance and applicability. Strategies for overcoming these problems are often related to surface coating/functionalization with various polymers, inorganic or organic materials. The aim of this study was to develop casein-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. Iron oxide nanoparticles were developed through the method of co-precipitation. In order to increase the physical stability of the particles, they were further coated with the natural, biodegradable protein casein by the method of simple coacervation. Design of experiments was applied to evaluate the influence of the defined independent variables (casein concentration and crosslinking agent glutaraldehyde concentration) over the dependent variables (average particle size, zeta potential, and polydispersity index). The average size and polydispersity index of the coated structures were evaluated using dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering. The coating of the iron nanoparticles was confirmed by a TEM analysis. An optimal model was established at the lower levels of the independent variables, offering a promising stable carrier, which can be further used as a potential drug delivery system.
Acknowledgments: This research was funded by the European Union-NextGenerationEU, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria project number BG-RRP-2.004-0007-C01.
