Encapsulation studies and selective membrane permeability properties of self-assembly hollow nanospheres

Abstract

This paper presents a kind of self-assembled hollow nanosphere for enzyme encapsulation. The enzyme molecules were encapsulated in hollow spheres directly in aqueous solution through the self-assembly of rod-coil Alg-g-PEG and α-CDs complexes. These Alg-g-PEG/α-CD hollow spheres showed semi-permeability which could prevent big enzyme molecules from leaving while allowing small substrates and products to pass through to maintain the enzyme activity. The permeability properties of Alg-g-PEG/α-CD hollow nanospheres were investigated by encapsulating different probes. The results showed that the molar mass cutoff (MMCO) of these hollow nanospheres was between 20 and 40 kDa. The encapsulation capability of Alg-g-PEG/α-CD hollow nanospheres was also investigated, the results indicated a maximal values for L-asparaginase encapsulation. Furthermore, the encapsulation behavior for L-asparaginase showed PEG graft density (GD) dependence.