Development and validation of a fluorimetric method to determine curcumin in lipid and polymeric nanocapsule suspensions

Letícia Mazzarino,Ismael Casagrande Bellettini,Elenara Lemos-Senna,Edson Minatti

doi:10.1590/s1984-82502010000200008

Letícia Mazzarino, Ismael Casagrande Bellettini + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1984-82502010000200008

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Abstract

A simple, rapid, and sensitive fluorimetric method was developed and validated to quantify curcumin in lipid and polymeric nanocapsule suspensions, using acetonitrile as a solvent. The excitation and emission wavelengths were set at 397 nm and 508 nm, respectively. The calibration graph was linear from 0.1 to 0.6 µg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9982. The detection and quantitation limits were 0.03 and 0.10 µg/mL, respectively. The validation results confirmed that the developed method is specific, linear, accurate, and precise for its intended use. The current method was successfully applied to the evaluation of curcumin content in lipid and polymeric nanocapsule suspensions during the early stage of formulation development.

Highlights

Curcumin [1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione] (Figure 1) is a yellow polyphenol extracted from the rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa, commonly known as turmeric
Considering the biological interest of curcumin, several studies have previously reported the determination of this drug by fluorimetric methods (Wang et al, 2006; Wang, Huang, 2007; Wang et al, 2008)
Degradation of curcumin in acetonitrile solution was reported after irradiation with light (400-700 nm), but the live-times were long enough to perform fluorimetric analysis of curcumin; fluorescence readings were constant for at least 1 h (Khopde et al, 2000)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Curcumin [1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione] (Figure 1) is a yellow polyphenol extracted from the rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa, commonly known as turmeric. Lipid nanocapsules have been prepared using the phase inversion process, which exploits the ability of polyethoxylated surfactants to change their affinities by the water and oil phase, as a function of the emulsion temperature, resulting in more stable and smaller nanoparticles. This method has the advantages of being relatively simple and low-energy consuming, allowing easy industrial scaleup and in particular, avoiding the use of organic solvents, the residues of which represent a potential risk to human health (Witschi, Doelker, 1997; Heurtault et al, 2003; Anton et al, 2008). Given that curcumin exhibits strong fluorescence in organic solvents (Díaz, Peinado, 1992), and the fact that no validated method has been described to quantify curcumin in colloidal suspensions, the development and validation of a spectrofluorimetric method was undertaken to determine curcumin loading in polymeric and lipid nanocarrier suspensions

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Method validation

AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS