By Dr Shikha T Malik
New Delhi: Eggshells are among the most commonly discarded kitchen waste. Now scientists are putting eggshells to some novel use – drug delivery – by deriving nanoparticles out of them.
A team of scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have developed a method to use eggshells for synthesizing nanoparticles. These nanoparticles could be potential candidates for local drug delivery as well as a material for bone grafts.
Nanoparticles are extremely tiny particles which can be customized for various biomedical applications like diagnostics, drug delivery etc. Researchers feel eggshell-derived nanoparticles may be suitable for use in humans as they have tested biocompatibility of calcium phosphate cement made from eggshells as dental implants in preliminary studies in humans. However, eggshell-derived nanoparticles are yet to be tested in humans.
Using microwaves, scientists synthesized carbonated calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (ECCDHA) nanoparticles from egg waste. These nanoparticles are similar to human bone in mineral composition.
In order to check drug delivery efficacy of these nanoparticles, researchers compared them with synthetic hydroxyapatite nanoparticles and found them to be more efficient. They are better in loading and releasing drugs in a sustained manner compared to the synthetic nanoparticles. A higher drug-loading capacity means lesser quantity of nanoparticle material is needed for drug delivery.
The efficacy of these particles was analyzed using an antibiotic as a test drug. “Apart from their ability to deliver the antibiotic, eggshell derived apatite nanoparticles also showed higher amount of bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein delivery, which means they may be employed for delivering growth factors for bone regeneration”, mentioned Prof Sampath Kumar, who led the team.
