Bioactive electrospun fish sarcoplasmic proteins as a drug delivery system

Nano-microfibers were made from cod (Gadus morhua) sarcoplasmic proteins (FSP) (M_w< 200 kDa) usingthe electrospinning technique. The FSP fibers were studied by scanning electron microscopy, and thefiber morphology was found to be strongly dependent on FSP concentration. Interestingly, the FSP fiberswere insoluble in water. However, when exposed to proteolytic enzymes, the fibers were degraded. Thedegradation products of the FSP fibers proved to be inhibitors of the diabetes-related enzyme DPP-IV. TheFSP fibers may have biomedical applications, among others as a delivery system. To demonstrate this, adipeptide (Ala-Trp) was encapsulated into the FSP fibers, and the release properties were investigatedin gastric buffer and in intestinal buffer. The release profile showed an initial burst release, where 30%of the compound was released within the first minute, after which an additional 40% was released (stillexponential) within the next 30 min (gastric buffer) or 15 min (intestinal buffer). The remaining 30% wasnot released in the timespan of the experiment.© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.