LAUSR

BACKGROUND Compared to the traditional inorganic and organic selenium compounds, nano-selenium exhibited higher biological safety and nutritional potency. However, the biological efficacy of nano-selenium has not been comprehensively and accurately evaluated due to its dispersion instability. RESULTS In this study, novel selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) with high dispersion stability were successfully prepared using polysaccharide-protein complex (PSP) as the capping agent, which was isolated from abalone viscera. The average particle size and zeta-potential of PSP-SeNPs were 63.33 nm, and - 37.1 mV, respectively. SeNPs were firmly capped by PSP through Se-O and Se-N bonds, as demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Due to this capping, the dispersion of PSP-SeNPs remained stable for 12 months at 4 °C, as evidenced by visual inspection and multiple light scattering. Furthermore, PSP-SeNPs imparted an excellent growth-promoting effect on tilapia. The FBW, WGR, and SGR values of tilapia juveniles fed with PSP-SeNPs supplemented diets (0.5-4.5 mg/kg) were significantly higher than those of the control (P < 0.05). Also, weight gain rate of 4.1%-43.4% and specific growth rate of 0.15%-1.74% were obtained in tilapia during a 45-day feeding. CONCLUSIONS It is a promising and green method to synthesize selenium nanoparticles using marine viscera polysaccharide, and the synthesized PSP-SeNPs has good application prospect in the field of life science. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.