Synthesis of gelatin nano/submicron particles by binary nonsolvent aided coacervation (BNAC) method

A newly developed modified coacervation method is utilized to synthesize gelatin nano/submicron particles (GN/SPs) as a drug carrier. Binary nonsolvent aided coacervation (BNAC) method is a modified single step coacervation method, which has yielded approximately a threefold lower particle size and higher average yield in terms of weight percentage of around 94% in comparison to the conventional phase separation methods. In this study 0.5% (w/v) gelatin aqueous solution with a binary nonsolvent system of acetone and ethanol was used. Nanoparticle synthesis was optimized with respect to nonsolvent system type and pH. pH 7 has resulted a minimum particle size of 55.67 (+/- 43.74) nm in anhydrous medium along with a swollen particle size of 776 nm (+/-38.57) in aqueous medium with a zeta potential of (-163 +/- 3.51) mV in aqueous medium. Swelling ratio of 13.95 confirms the crosslinked hydrogel nature of the particles. Furthermore, drug loading efficiency of the gelatin particles prepared at 7 pH was observed with nitrofurazone as the model drug. Results of drug release study indicate the potential use of GN/SPs as drug loading matrix for wound management such as burn wound management. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.