Heparin coated poly(alkylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles coupled to hemoglobin: a new oxygen carrier

A new generation of drug delivery systems based on heparin-poly(isobutylcyanoacrylate) copolymers has been developed to carry hemoglobin. These copolymers spontaneously form, in water, nanoparticles with a ciliated surface of heparin. These nanoparticles maintain the heparin antithrombic properties and inhibit complement activation. One ml of nanoparticle suspension can be loaded with up to 2.1 mg of hemoglobin, which preserves its ligand binding capacity. This work constitutes the first demonstration of hemoglobin loaded on nanoparticle surface, rather than being encapsulated. With a size of 100 nm, these drug delivery systems make suitable tools in the treatment of thrombosis oxygen deprived pathologies. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.