Abstract—Alpha 1-antitrypsin is a member of serine protease inhibitors which mainly inactivates neutrophil elastase and prevents the destruction of the pulmonary extracellular matrix. Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency causes emphysema in adults and liver disease in children. The main goal of the present study was to investigate ability of poly (D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles to carry the alpha 1-antitrypsin protein as a potential therapeutic agent for the protection of lung tissue against free proteolytic activity. Poly (D, L-lactide-co-glycolide nanoparticles with an average size of 550 nm were produced by the “oil-in-oil emulsification solvent evaporation method” and successfully loaded with the alpha 1-antitrypsin protein during the production of the nanoparticles. The constructed nanoparticles were then characterized in terms of size, morphology and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy which was subsequently followed by studying the in vitro release of the protein. The resulting profile indicated that the protein was completely released from the polymeric nanoparticles after 36 days. In conclusion, our data suggests that poly (D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles could be an effective, potential carrier for delivery of alpha 1-antitrypsin protein.

Index Terms—Alpha 1-antitrypsin, Nanoencapsulation, Oil-in-oil emulsification solvent evaporation, Poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)

Sareh Arjmand is with the Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Jalal Ale Ahmad Highway, P.O.Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran (fax: +98-2144580399; e-mail: sareh_6@yahoo.com).
Elham Bidram is with Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Tarbiat Modares University, Jalal Ale Ahmad Highway, P.O.Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran (e-mail: ebidram@yahoo.com).
Abbas S. Lotfi is with the National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Shahrak-e Pajoohesh, km 15, Tehran - Karaj Highway, P.O.Box: 14965/161, Tehran, Iran (corresponding author to provide fax: +98-2144580399; e-mail: lotfi-ab@nigeb.ac.ir).
Hamid Mahdavi is with the Department of Novel Drug Delivery Systems & Biomaterials Iran Polymer & Petrochemical Institute Tehran, Iran (h.mahdavi@ippi.ac.ir).
Maryam Alavi is with the National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Shahrak-e Pajoohesh, km 15, Tehran - Karaj Highway, P.O.Box: 14965/161, Tehran, Iran (marym.alavi@gmail.com).

Cite: Sareh Arjmand, Elham Bidram, Abbas Sahebghadam Lotfi, Hamid Mahdavi, Maryam Alavi, "Evaluation of Poly (D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) for Nanoencapsulation of Alpha 1-antitrypsin and In Vitro Release Study," International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 68-72, 2011.