Preparation and Characterization of BSA-Loaded Alginate Microspheres
Meltem ÇETİN*^,o, İmran VURAL**, Yılmaz ÇAPAN**, A. Atillâ HINCAL**
* Atatürk University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, 25240, Erzurum, Turkey.
** Hacettepe University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, 06100, Ankara, Turkey.

^oCorresponding Author

Summary

This study describes the preparation and characterization of a model protein (bovine serum albumin; BSA)-loaded alginate microspheres. BSA was encapsulated within alginate microspheres by the emulsification technique. The average particle size was 11.96 ±0.043 μm of the prepared microspheres. The drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were about 0.73 and 37%, respectively. The in vitro release profile showed a fast release rate of BSA, and 90% of the BSA was released from alginate microspheres in 48 hours. The structural integrity of BSA was investigated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that BSA integrity was not affected by the encapsulation procedure or release conditions. Alginate microspheres might be promising delivery systems for protein delivery.

Key Words :
BSA, alginate, PLGA, SDS-PAGE.