Protein nanospheres can be used in controlled delivery of pharmacological agents to the target site, thus reducing the dose, the frequency of drug administration and consequently the side effects. In this study, nanospheres of bovine serum albumin (BSA) were produced using a high-pressure homogenizer and different parameters were optimized in order to obtain particles that exhibit characteristics compatible with a potential application as drug delivery systems. Different formulations were prepared and their physicochemical properties were extensively characterized. Preliminary tests were performed to evaluate their potential in vitro. The obtained nanospheres presented adequate small sizes and polidispersity, and demonstrated stability over time. After several steps of optimization, the drug encapsulation, the introduction of imaging and targeting agents in the samples were performed and more complex nanospheres were obtained. The analysis of these samples indicated that these protein-based nanospheres exhibit suitable characteristics for application on specific drug delivery systems.

Preparation and characterization of BSA nanospheres as drug delivery systems

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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