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. The 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.