Curcumin-encased hydroxyapatite nanoparticles as novel biomaterials for antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer applications: A perspective of nano-based drug delivery

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is an important biological molecule and principal mineral component found in bones that is used in various clinical applications to significantly enhance the biological activity and biocompatibility of man-made biological molecule. Several analyses have been performed to control the structural properties of HAp by varying the processing parameters. This study described the synthesis of HAp nanoparticles (NPs) via the sol-gel method, that would be effective for biomedical applications, such as bone graft substitution. It also examined the effects of pure HAp, surfactant (PEG and CTAB)-assisted HAp NPs, and curcumin-mediated HAp NPs. The synthesized HAp NPs were analyzed using XRD, FTIR, RAMAN, FESEM, TEM, EDAX, UV-DRS, and PL analysis. From the XRD analysis, it was found that the prepared HAp NPs have a hexagonal structure with nanosize distribution. From FESEM and TEM analyses, it was found that the synthesized HAp NPs were rod-like in shape and the elemental analysis was conducted using EDAX. In addition, the biological applications were investigated, viz., antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and anticancer activity. The synthesized HAp nanoparticles possessed excellent antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Overall, curcumin-encased HAp nanoparticles can play a vital role in a wide range of fields, including water treatment, food preservation, wound dressing, nanomedicines, and cosmetics as biocidal and disinfecting agents.