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A new two-step desolvation method for manufacturing gelatin nanoparticles was developed. After the first desolvation step, the low molecular gelatin fractions present in the supernatant were removed by decanting. The high molecular fractions present in the sediment were redesolved and then desolvated again at pH 2.5 in the second step. The resulting particles can then be easily purified by centrifugation and redispersion. The different fractions obtained during the process were analysed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Based on these results, it can be concluded that the molecular weight of gelatin has a decisive influence on the stability of the manufactured gelatin nanoparticles. In addition, two fluorescent dyes (Texasred and fluoresceinamine) were coupled to the nanoparticles for cell uptake studies. The fluorescent nanoparticles showed a high uptake into monocytes/macrophages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The standard treatment of poisoning by organophosphorous compounds such as paraoxon includes the administration of oximes. Due to their inability to rapidly cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in therapeutically relevant concentrations, these drugs possess insufficient activity in the central nervous system. Since human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles enable the delivery of a variety of drugs across the BBB into the brain, in the present study the antidote obidoxime was bound to these particles by adsorption. The resulting sorption isotherms showed a best fit to Langmuir isotherms indicating that obidoxime adsorbs to HSA nanoparticles forming a monolayer. A maximum drug loading of 93.5 microg obidoxime/mg of nanoparticles at pH 8.3 was calculated. At higher concentrations the particle diameter increased significantly with obidoxime concentration leading to instable particle systems. The in vitro release of obidoxime from HSA nanoparticles showed a rapid release of the drug from the nanoparticles within 3 h.