Abstract
Proteins and polysaccharides are biopolymers that can be obtained from sustainable resources and can add value to biomaterials for medical and food science applications. Nanoparticles (NPs) of hemoglobin (Hb) and hyaluronic acid (HA) are prepared by electrostatic complexation of HA and Hb and thermal treatment at mild temperature under a totally biocompatible methodology. The electrostatic interaction between the anionic polysaccharide HA and Hb at conditions (pH 4) where the protein is strongly positively charged (net charge +54) is used to form protein/polysaccharide complexes of well-defined size distribution (100–200 nm). The complexes are stabilized against disintegration at pH 7 by thermal treatment at 60 °C for 2 h. The content of Hb in α-helices (∼47%) and β-sheets (∼19%) does not change upon thermal treatment. The NPs have pH-responsive surface charge and ability to bind hydrophobic compounds however the surface activity of the protein is not present in the NPs. This work motivates the use of renewable biomacromolecules from sustainable resources for nanocarrier applications.
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