Opportunities and challenges in the techniques used for preparation of gelatin nanoparticles

Abstract

Gelatin nanoparticles have attracted substantial interest as drug delivery vehicle. The presence of many functional groups in gelatin structure offer several opportunities for cross linking and targeting. However, there has always been constraints in preparation of stable and mono disperse gelatin nanoparticles avoiding aggregation during cross-linking; hence, different approaches have been adopted for preparation of stable nanoparticles from gelatin. This review examines the techniques employed for preparation of gelatin nanoparticles and in particular the advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Further, this review also presents a direction for future research in circumventing the issue of crosslinking in gelatin nanoparticles.