Preparation of maltodextrin nanoparticles and encapsulation of bovine serum albumin – Influence of formulation parameters

Abstract

Maltodextrin, which is obtained by partial hydrolysis of starch, is water soluble and could serve as hydrophilic carrier for the encapsulation of protein-based active pharmaceutical ingredients. We investigated three different commercial maltodextrins (Dextrose Equivalents (DE) 4.0-7.0, DE 13.0-17.0 and DE 16.5-19.5) with focus on their ability to form nanoparticles by inverse precipitation. Successful particle formation was observed for DE 13.0-17.0 and DE 16.5-19.5 but not for DE 4.0-7.0. The process was investigated using acetone as anti-solvent and poloxamer 407 as stabilizer. A tunable size between 170 nm and 450 nm was achieved by varying the type of maltodextrin and the stabilizer concentration. Particles were spherical in shape and were stable over a time period of 14 days. Maltodextrin nanoparticles (MD NPs) were tested on A549 cells and did not show any cytotoxic effects. This underlines the potential of maltodextrin as material for drug delivery systems. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein was successfully encapsulated into MD NPs with encapsulation efficiencies of approx. 70% and loading rates of up to 20%.