Unraveling the Formation of Gelatin Nanospheres by Means of Desolvation Besheli, Negar Hassani Martens, Martijn Macías Sánchez, Elena Olijve, Jos Yang, Fang Sommerdijk, Nico Leeuwenburgh, Sander C. G. Gelatin nanoparticles Desolvation Self-assembly Gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) have been widely studied for a plethora of biomedical applications, but their formation mechanism remains poorly understood, which precludes precise control over their physicochemical properties. This leads to timeconsuming parameter adjustments without a fundamental grasp of the underlying mechanism. Here, we analyze and visualize in a timeresolved manner the mechanism by which GNPs are formed during desolvation of gelatin as a function of gelatin molecular weight and type of desolvating agent. Through various analytical and imaging techniques, we unveil a multistage process that is initiated by the formation of primary particles that are ∼18 nm in diameter (wet state). These primary particles subsequently assemble into colloidally stable GNPs with a raspberry-like structure and a hydrodynamic diameter of ∼300 nm. Our results create a basic understanding of the formation mechanism of gelatin nanoparticles, which opens new opportunities for precisely tuning their physicochemical and biofunctional properties. 2024-04-23T07:52:33Z 2024-04-23T07:52:33Z 2023-11-15 journal article Negar Hassani Besheli, Martijn Martens, Elena Macías-Sánchez, Jos Olijve, Fang Yang, Nico Sommerdijk, and Sander C. G. Leeuwenburgh. Unraveling the Formation of Gelatin Nanospheres by Means of Desolvation. Nano Letters. 2023. 23 (23), 11091-11098. DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c03459 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/91047 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c03459 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional American Chemical Society