The existing methods used for preparing the gelatin micro- and nanoparticles
are relatively complicated (Tabata and Ikada 1987, 1989, Yoshioka rt al. 1981).
They basically are conventional water-in-oil (w/o) emulsion methods. A large
cluantity of emulsifier or surfactant is employed in these methods, particularly for
the preparation of gelatin nanoparticles. T h e employed emulsifiers or surfactants
may be harmful to some fragile drugs such as proteins and peptides if the drugs are
co-emulsified during the process. Hence, the conventional w/o emulsion methods
may not be suitable for the encapsulation of protein/peptide drugs. T o nanoencapsulate protein/peptide drugs using gelatin as the carrier material, an
emulsifier-free method has been developed and is reported here.