Quantitative analysis of hemoglobin content in polymeric nanoparticles as blood substitutes using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Based on the penetrability of IR within the polymeric nanoparticles, a novel Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) method, with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the internal reference standard, was developed to quantify the hemoglobin (Hb) content in Hb-based polymeric nanoparticles (HbPN). The HbPN was fabricated by double emulsion method from poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(lactic acid)–poly(ethylene glycol) triblock copolymers. Depending on the characteristic un-overlapped IR absorbances at 1540 cm −1 of Hb (amide II) and at 2241 cm −1 of PAN (–C≡N), calibration equations, presenting the peak height ratio of Hb and PAN as a function of the weight ratio of Hb and PAN, were established. This new quantification method is validated and used to the determination Hb content in HbPN. Due to the good results of this calibration strategy, the proposed simple FTIR approach with minimal sample-needed and solvent-free makes it useful for routine analysis of protein content and could be also applied to any other drug/protein encapsulated particles.