1-Preparation, Characterization, and Efficiency of Loading Leiurus quinquestriatus Venom on Chitosan Nanoparticles Extracted from Some Scorpions .

Abstract

Aim: This investigation aims to extract chitin and chitosan from the three scorpions: Leiurus quinquestriatus (LQ), Androctonus crassicauda (AC) and Androctonus amoreuxi (AA) for the first time and to determine the loading capacity and efficiency of LQ venom-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (V-CN). Methods: chitin was extracted and converted to chitosan which is converted to nanoparticles (Cs-NPs) by ball-milling technique. LQ venom was collected, characterized, and loaded on Cs-NPs via the ionic gelation method. Different techniques were used to characterize the obtained compounds. Results: the dried powder of LQ, AC, and AA contained 19.7 %, 15.4 %, and 15 % chitin, respectively. FT-IR confirmed the successful preparation of chitin, chitosan, and V-CN samples. Loading capacity reached 76.50 %, while encapsulation efficiency reached 87.98 %. Conclusion: scorpion venom was effectively loaded on chitosan samples. Its physical and compound qualities, specifically, were viewed as great for biomedical and drug applications.