Preparation and Characterization of Curcumin Nanoemulsion in Olive Oil-Tween 80 System using Wet Ball Milling Method

Abstract

Nanoemulsion has been developed as a drug delivery system which increases bioavailability and effectiveness of curcumin. Many methods and formulations have been applied in order to fabricate the most efficient nanoemulsion system to deliver curcumin. Wet ball milling is a simple technique to grind solids like powder to produce nano emulsion. On the other hand, a combination of olive oil and curcumin in Mediterranian Diet shows a promising anticancer activity. This research aims to elaborate the preparation and characterization of curcumin nanoemulsion in olive oil-Tween 80 system with wet ball milling method. It is expected that the procedure yields a combination of curcumin and olive oil in nanoemulsion system with simple preparation. This research uses curcumin as active compound, olive oil as solvent for curcumin, Tween 80 as stabilizer, and water as dispersing agent. Particle size and polydispersity index are determined using Dynamic Light Scattering technique. The results show that the best milling time is 8 hours to produce nanoemulsion that has diameter of 303 nm and polidispersity index of 0.29. Nanoemulsion system is stable for 60 days storage at 4 oC and 25 oC. The maximum curcumin mass that can be loaded in the system while maintaining particle size in nanoemulsion range is 300 mg.