Hemoglobin Loaded Alginate Particles

Over the last few years medical and pharmaceutical industries have shown an increasing interest in alginate, an anionic polysaccharide widely distributed in the cell walls of brown algae. The present work aims at loading Human Hemoglobin (Hb) into alginate particles; the modification of some formulation parameters was carefully investigated by analysing changes on particles size and protein physicochemical properties. Particles were prepared by dropping alginate into an aqueous solution containing Hb and CaCl2, which permits the formation of particles through ionic cross- linking. Hb loaded alginate beads were obtained possessing an average diameter of about 2 mm and a protein loading of about 5%. Physicochemical characterizations showed that the protein maintained its functional ability of reversibly binding oxygen and its quaternary structure once loaded into alginate beads. In a refinement of the first formulation trials, Hb loaded alginate microparticles with diameter around 150 μm were obtained with a protein loading of about 50%