Abstract:
Nanoparticulate LCS-Phe-mPEG obtained from the conjugation of phenylalanine (Phe) and poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether terminated with a carboxyl group ((mPEG-COOH) onto low molecular weight chitosan is proposed. The structural characterization confirmed by FTIR at 1670 to 1630, 1551 to 1534, and 750 cm-1 for amide I, amide II, and the benzene ring of phenylalanine, respectively, and by H NMR at 7.36 to 7.24 and 2.63 to 2.48 ppm for C6H5 of phenylalanine and COCH2CH2CO of mPEG, respectively, indicates the successful reaction. Compound 2 exhibits the size of 150-250 nm in solution state, as evaluated by dynamic light scattering (DLS), and 50-60 nm in spherical shape in dry state as observed by TEM. A preliminary study of allergen entrapment done by simply mixing nanoparticles with the crude allergen solution shows a UV-Vis absorption at 595 nm, indicating the successful allergen incorporation in the nanoparticulate LCS-Phe-mPEG.
