Preparation of biocompatible films from aqueous dispersions of zein nanoparticles

In this work, a stable aqueous zein dispersion i.e. zein pseudolatex (latex - colloidal dispersion
of polymer particles in a liquid) was prepared by spontaneous antisolvent precipitation of 10%
w/w zein solution in 90% v/v aqueous ethanol. The prepared dispersion was concentrated in a
rotary evaporator to a concentration of 4%. The method used for film preparation was by casting
the zein dispersions in polystyrene dishes and vacuum-drying them at 60°C. During the film
formation process several steps took place including water loss, deformation and coalescence
of nanoparticles, resulting in homogenous film. Zein films prepared without a plasticizer are
brittle, therefore zein films were plasticized with either propylene glycol (PG), glycerol (GLY),
polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG 200) or polyethylene glycol 600 (PEG 600).