Mesoporous nanoparticles synthesised from whey proteins

Abstract

Waste from the dairy industry has a significant environmental impact in the region. We propose to recycle one of the most abundant wastes, whey serum, which is rich in proteins, for the synthesis of biomaterials of biotechnological interest. Mesoporous nanoparticles (Nps) synthesised from whey proteins are of interest as nano- transporters of molecules of low solubility or stability, and are characterised as biocompatible and are characterised as biocompatible and biodegradable. Here we have applied different protocols (ultrafiltration, dialysis) to desalt the proteins and obtained Nps after incubation at 80 oC for 3 h at pH = 5.8. The NPs observed in the SEM images were round and the diameters ranged between 70 and 420 nm, with a median of 213 nm. Analysis of the N2 BET isotherms indicated a specific surface area of 1.9 m2/g and the range of pore sizes was between 5 and 15 nm. Further characterisation of the nanostructures was carried out using dynamic light scattering and TEM. This information will be useful for setting up drug adsorption/ desorption experiments in a next research step.