Electrohydrodynamic atomization of protein (bovine serum albumin)

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was chosen as a model protein. Three solutions of different concentrations of 5, 20 and 50 mg/ml were prepared, characterised and subjected to electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA). The 5 and 20 mg/ml solutions were atomized successfully and mode selection (M-S) maps were drawn for both concentrations to find out regions of stable cone-jet mode atomizaton. Droplet relics of these two solutions were investigated by electron microscopy. Samples were investigated by UV spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy before and after electrohydrodynamic atomization. We conclude that, particularly at the higher concentration of protein, EHDA does not result in significant structural change of BSA, and therefore is a processing route that can be considered for encapsulating drugs in proteins.