Adsorption of gum Arabic on bioceramic nanoparticles

Surface modification agents can be used to tailor the surface chemistry and biological activity of bioceramic nanoparticles in very intriguing ways. However, the specific modes of interactions between macromolecules and nanoparticles can be difficult to characterize. The aim of this study was to investigate the adsorption of gum Arabic on hydroxyapatite (HAp) and magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) using the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) test. Gum Arabic (GA) is a natural gum that has been widely used as an emulsifying agent and shows promise for dispersing nanoparticles in aqueous solutions. The adsorption of GA onto HAp nanoparticles followed a Langmuir isotherm with an adsorption plateau occurring at 0.2 g GA/g HAp. The adsorption of GA onto MNP attained a maximum value of 0.6 g GA/g MNP, after which it decreased to approximately 0.2 g GA/g MNP. The maximum adsorption density of GA on both MNP and HAp is equivalent when normalized to the specific surface area (4 × 10− 3 g GA/m2). Adsorbed GA molecules were displaced from the surface of HAp and MNP in the presence of phosphate ions.