Curcumin-loaded Liposomes Research Articles

Arginine-Glycine-Aspartic Acid-anchored Curcumin-based Nanotherapeutics Inhibit Pyroptosis-induced Cytokine Release Syndrome for In Vivo and In Vitro Sepsis Applications.

We aimed to design RGD-anchored liposomes encapsulating an antipyroptosis drug that could efficiently target macrophages and relieve the rate of cytokine release syndrome, providing a new strategy for sepsis treatment, especially sepsis-induced acute renal injury. Sepsis is a clinical syndrome of life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by host response disorders due to infection. Sepsis has a high incidence and remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Macrophage-mediated pyroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of cytokine release syndrome and organ injury caused by sepsis. Curcumin can inhibit inflammasome assembly and slow the progression of pyroptosis by scavenging intracellular reactive oxygen species, but it has poor water solubility and low bioavailability. The emergence of drug-delivery nanosystems has overcome this problem, but there is still a lack of research on how to accurately deliver antipyroptotic drugs to innate immune cells and subsequently hinder pyroptosis. We constructed a curcumin-loaded RGD-modified liposome (RGD-lipo/Cur) and demonstrated that RGD-lipo/Cur could effectively target macrophages. In vitro, RGD-lipo/Cur reduced the upregulation of caspase-1, caspase-3, NLRP3, IL-1β and GSDMD, inhibiting pyroptosis, reducing oxidative stress, and attenuating the proinflammatory cytokine cascade. RGD-lipo/Cur was considered to have great potential for sepsis treatment.

Self-assembled hyaluronic acid-coated nanocomplexes for targeted delivery of curcumin alleviate acute kidney injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a pathological process with high morbidity, and drug resistance is easy to occur due to untargeted drug therapy. Curcumin can repair acute kidney injury. The expression of the CD44 receptor in renal tubular epithelial cells is abnormally elevated during AKI, and hyaluronic acid (HA) has the ability to bind specifically to the CD44 receptor. In this study, we developed a hyaluronic acid-coated liposome (HALP) nanocomplexes that targeted renal epithelial cells and its effect of relieving AKI was investigated. HALP was formed by self-assembly through the electrostatic interaction of curcumin-loaded cationic liposomes (LP) with hyaluronic acid and responds to the release of curcumin in the acidic microenvironment of lesions to treat AKI. HALP had good stability and biocompatibility. The in vitro results showed that compared to LP, HALP exhibited higher antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic capacities. The AKI model suggested that HALP could not only target and accumulate in the injured kidney but also had an excellent ability to reduce the inflammatory response, which decreased tubular necrosis and restored kidney function.

Preparation of liposomes by glycolipids/phospholipids as wall materials: Studies on stability and digestibility

Glycolipids may be potential materials to improve the instability of liposomes during storage and consumption. Curcumin-loaded liposomes with high stability were successfully prepared by glycolipids and phospholipids extracted from tilapia. The physicochemical properties analysed showed that glycolipids enhanced the surface charge of liposomes and the encapsulation ability of curcumin. The enhanced affinity of liposomes for curcumin was attributed to the stronger interaction between the head group of glycolipids and curcumin through hydrogen bonding. As predicted, glycolipids improved the storage stability of liposomes, and the thermal stability of curcumin increased from 35.95% to 54.13%. Moreover, glycolipids could resist the degradation of liposomes in the gastrointestinal tract, reducing the encapsulation efficiency changes of curcumin from 60.67% to 43.63%. Simultaneously, the liposomes formed by glycolipids could more effectively protect nerve cells from oxidative damage. Therefore, the substitution of phospholipids with glycolipids is an effective strategy to improve the stability and bioactivity of liposomes.

Improving the stability and bioactivity of curcumin using chitosan-coated liposomes through a combination mode of high-pressure processing

This study used chitosan-coated liposomes of curcumin (cur-chitosomes) coupled with a combination mode of high-pressure processing (HPP) and ethanol injection to improve the bioactivity, preservation, and thermal stability of curcumin. The results revealed cur-chitosomes presented the best thermal stability and encapsulation efficiency. With 0.1% chitosan addition, the encapsulation efficiency increased from 73.8 to 84.0%, accompanying with less increases on particle size and polydispersity index. Storage stability for 28 days incubation demonstrated the particle size of cur-chitosomes remained at a constant value, which presented the long thermal stability due to the static electrostatic repulsive force. The stability of cur-chitosomes presented high value of 85.3% at degradation conditions of 25 °C and 480 min. With thermal kinetic calculation, the half-life of curcumin-loaded liposomes and cur-chitosomes were 625 and 1250 min at 25 °C, so liposome formation and chitosan addition in curcumin could increase the storage time. Over 104 CFU/g Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus aureus could be completely sterilized in the preparation of cur-chitosomes at 400 MPa HPP. Consequently, chitosomes by HPP not only prevented the thermal degradation of heat-sensitive substances but also enhanced the storage stability and the sterilization effect in a non-thermal process.

Investigation of ROS generating capacity of curcumin-loaded liposomes and its in vitro cytotoxicity on MCF-7 cell lines using photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is highly efficient in eradicating targetlesions by using photosensitizers (PS) triggered by external light energy. Nanotechnology may help increase the solubility and effective delivery of PS towards improving its efficacy. Curcumin (Cur) was used as a natural PS for PDT in the present work. Briefly, curcumin was encapsulated in liposomes (LPs) using the thin film hydration method and optimized using the QbD approach through the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) to optimize the responses like entrapment efficiency and drug loading with a smaller vesicle size. The in vitro release studies performed using a dialysis bag (MWCO 12 KDa) suggested a sustained release of the Cur over 72 h in pH 7.4 PBS following the Weibull drug release kinetics. In addition, the ROS generating capabilities upon application of blue light (460 nm) and resulting cytotoxicity were evaluated in MCF-7 cell lines. The Cur-loaded liposome exhibited significant ROS generation and cytotoxicity to the cancer cells than free curcumin. Thus, the Cur-loaded liposomes could be used to treat breast cancer with photodynamic therapy.

The Specific Properties of Phusang Hot Spring Water: Safety and Benefits

Phusang warm pond or Phusang hot spring (Thailand) has a temperature of approximately 36–38 °C and may be suitable for bacterial growth. However, data on the microbiota and effectiveness of this water remain obscure. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of Phusang hot spring water by clarifying the microorganisms and viral pathogens present. Cytotoxicity, irritation, liposome uptake, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated. The levels of trace elements such as sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), and strontium (Sr) were confirmed. Phusang hot spring water was nontoxic to L-929 cells and HDFa cells and was nonirritating to human phototypes I to IV at 48 h. The antimicrobial effects of Phusang hot spring water on S.aureus, S. epidermidis, B. subtilis and E. coli were not detected using the agar well diffusion assay. Phusang hot spring water decreased interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression at 24 h compared with (PBS) and untreated controls, as measured using semi qRT–PCR and ELISA. Phusang hot spring water combined with curcumin-loaded liposomes exerted antiaging effects, suggesting their benefits for application in cosmetic products. The bacteriophage families Myoviridae, Siphoviridae and Podoviridae were detected, but not HPV or EBV. Trace elements such as Na and Ca were present. Therefore, the importance of this study is that Phusang hot spring water exerts anti-inflammatory effects via IL-6, is nontoxic and nonirritating, and might be used for balneotherapy or as a cosmetic ingredient under sterile conditions.

Development of curcumin-loaded liposomes in lysine–collagen hydrogel for surgical wound healing

BackgroundA surgical wound is an incision made by a surgeon. Slow surgical wound healing may lead to chronic wounds which may be a potential health problem. The aim of this study is to formulate curcumin-loaded liposomes in lysine–collagen hydrogel for enhancing surgical wound healing. Curcumin-loaded liposomes were prepared using thin-film hydration method. The liposomal formulation was characterized by analysing its size, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro release. The hydrogel base was prepared, and then, curcumin-loaded liposomes were infused to give formulation (F1). Curcumin-loaded liposomes were infused into the hydrogel base after which lysine and collagen were incorporated to give (F2), while (F3) comprised lysine and collagen incorporated in hydrogel base. All formulations were characterized by evaluation of the safety, stability, swelling index, pH, rheological properties, and in vivo wound healing assay. Histology and histomorphometry of tissue samples of wound area treated with formulations F1, F2, and F3 and the control, respectively, were examined.ResultsCurcumin-loaded liposomes were 5–10 µm in size, and the values for encapsulation efficiency and flux of the loaded liposomes are 99.934% and 51.229 µg/cm2/h, respectively. Formulations F1, F2, and F3 had a pH of 5.8. F1 had the highest viscosity, while F2 had the highest swelling index indications for efficient sustained release of drug from the formulation. The in vivo wound healing evaluation showed that curcumin-loaded liposomes in lysine–collagen hydrogel had the highest percentage wound contraction at 79.25% by day three post-surgical operation. Histological evaluation reflected a normal physiological structure of the layers of the epidermis and dermis after surgical wound healing in tissue samples from wound areas treated with formulations F1 and F2. The histomorphometrical values show highest percentage of collagen, lowest inflammatory rates, highest presence of microvessels, and re-epithelization rates at wound site in wounds treated with formulation F2 (curcumin-loaded liposomes in lysine–collagen hydrogel).ConclusionCurcumin-loaded liposomes in lysine–collagen hydrogel was found to be the most effective of the three formulations in promoting wound healing. Hence, this formulation can serve as a prototype for further development and has great potential as a smart wound dressing for the treatment of surgical wounds.

Novel microfluidic swirl mixers for scalable formulation of curcumin loaded liposomes for cancer therapy

Liposomes have been widely used in nanomedicine for the delivery of hydrophobic and hydrophilic anticancer agents. The most common applications of these formulations are vaccines and anticancer formulations (e.g., mRNA, small molecule drugs). However, large-scale production with precise control of size and size distribution of the lipid-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) is one of the major challenges in the pharmaceutical industry. In this study, we used newly designed microfluidic swirl mixers with simple 3D mixing chamber structures to prepare liposomes at a larger scale (up to 320 mL/min or 20 L/h) than the commercially available devices. This design demonstrated high productivity and better control of liposome size and polydispersity index (PDI) than conventional liposome preparation methods. The microfluidic swirl mixer devices were used to produce curcumin-loaded liposomes under different processing conditions which were later characterized and studied in vitro to evaluate their efficiency as DDSs. The obtained results demonstrated that the liposomes can effectively deliver curcumin into cancer cells. Therefore, the microfluidic swirl mixers are promising devices for reproducible and scalable manufacturing of DDSs.

Curcumin-Loaded Liposome Preparation in Ultrasound Environment under Pressurized Carbon Dioxide.

Curcumin-loaded liposomes were prepared using a supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2)–ultrasound environment system. The experiments were performed at temperatures of 40–70 °C and pressures of 10–25 MPa in a batch system with ultrasonication for 60 min. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed liposome products with spherical morphologies and diameters of <100 nm. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis indicated that the curcumin-loaded liposome nanosuspension exhibited good stability. Changing the operating conditions influenced the amount of liposome-encapsulated curcumin; as the operating temperature or pressure increased, the diameter of the liposome products and the amount of liposome-encapsulated curcumin increased and decreased, respectively. Herein, we described an innovative and practical organic-solvent-free method for generating liposomes from phospholipids.

Folic acid-modified curcumin-loaded liposomes for breast cancer therapy

Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women, with more than 2 million cases per year and a lethality rate of 17.7%. The treatment of breast cancer still being a challenge due to the high heterogeneity of tumor cells. In this scenario, the development of targeted nanosystems for drug delivery has been investigated. Thus, the aim of this study was the development and characterization of folic acid-modified curcumin-loaded liposomes (LIP-CCM-FA) for the treatment of breast cancer. For this purpose, LIP-CCM-FA and unmodified liposomes (LIP-CCM) were developed and characterized in vitro using MCF-7 cells culture in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) models. LIP-CCM and LIP-CCM-FA showed low particles size (~ 138 nm), narrow polydispersity indexes (~ 0.140), negative zeta potential (~ −13 mV), and high drug encapsulation efficiency (> 73%). Furthermore, LIP-CCM-FA showed a significantly greater cytotoxicity effect when compared with free curcumin and LIP-CCM using 2D and 3D cell culture models. In addition, in vitro cellular uptake assays using 2D and 3D models indicated higher cellular internalization and spheroid penetration of LIP-CCM-FA when compared with free curcumin and LIP-CCM, suggesting the potential of folic acid modification for improving drug internalization in breast cancer cells through its recognition by folate receptors overexpressed. In summary, this novel nanosystem demonstrated a greater in vitro antitumoral effect due to its ability to permeate tissues and be specifically recognized by folate receptors.

Preparation of curcumin-loaded liposome with high bioavailability by a novel method of high pressure processing

Curcumin has been incorporated for the development of new products with applicability in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields in Asia, due to the traits of anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory. In the application of food engineering, high-pressure processing (HPP) can destroy non-covalent bonds and use as a method to inactivate bacteria for extending the perseveration of food. Thus, this study focuses on a novel approach for the microencapsulation of curcumin by the combination of ethanol injection and HPP at the room temperature for stabilizing pure curcumin in aqueous solutions and in liposome. The results revealed that the most optimal curcumin-liposome was prepared by HPP at operational pressure of 200 MPa within 5 mins holding time to obtain the minimum particle size of 281.9 nm, encapsulation efficiency of 87.25% and polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.23. Particle size could reduce to nanoscale (70.65 nm) after 0.5% addition of Tween 80, but the encapsulation efficiency spontaneously decreased to 45.05%. It is an option to produce liposome with nanosize and uniform distribution for the consideration of high drug delivery. Conclusively, HPP process could not only effectively decrease particle size and PDI of liposome but also efficiently sterilize bacteria around concentration of 103 CFU/g.

Artificial neural network for optimizing the formulation of curcumin-loaded liposomes from statistically designed experiments.

Curcumin is a primary polyphenol of the rhizomatous perennial plant called Curcuma Longa. Curcumin interferes favorably with the cellular events that take place in the inflammatory and proliferative stages of wound healing, hence its importance in skin regeneration and wound healing. Curcumin is however lipophilic, and this must be considered in the choice of its drug delivery system. Liposomes are spherical vesicles with bi-lipid layers. Liposomes can encapsulate both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs, hence their suitability as an ideal drug delivery system for curcumin. There is, nevertheless, a tendency for liposomes to be unstable and have low encapsulation efficiency if it is not formulated properly. Formulation optimization of curcumin-loaded liposomes was studied by the application of artificial neural network (ANN) to improve encapsulation efficiency and flux of the liposomes. The input factors selected for optimization of the formulation were sonication time, hydration volume, and lipid/curcumin ratio. The response variables were encapsulation efficiency and flux. The maximum encapsulation efficiency and flux were obtained using lipid/curcumin ratio of 4.35, sonicator time of 15min, and hydration volume of 25mL. The maximum encapsulation efficiency and flux predicted were 100% and 51.23µg/cm2/h, respectively. The experimental values were 99.934% and 51.229µg/cm2/h, respectively. Curcumin-loaded liposome formulation is a promising drug delivery system in the pharmaceutical industry when formulated using optimized parameters derived from ANN statistically designed models.

Preparation and characterization of curcumin-loaded liposomes for delivery to the lungs

Preparation and characterization of curcumin-loaded liposomes for delivery to the lungs

Formulation, Optimization, and in vitro Characterization of Curcumin Loaded Liposomes for Colonic Delivery

Background: Curcumin has been extensively employed in the treatment of several diseases in traditional medicine, including cancer.The main obstacles that avert its approval as a therapeutic moiety are its low aqueous solubility and low in vivo bioavailability. Liposomes have been recognized as effective carrier systems owing to their ability to solubilize hydrophobic molecules and to change their pharmacokinetic attributes. This study was intended at developing Eudragit S 100 coated alginate beads bearing curcumin loaded liposomes for colonic delivery. Methods: The liposomes were prepared by the film casting method. The optimization of various formulation and process variables was done by Box-Behnken design using Design- Expert® Software. Three variables i.e.HSPC:Chol molar ratio (X1),curcumin concentration (X2),and sonication time (X3) were selected as independent variables and entrapment efficiency of curcumin, polydispersity index, and vesicle size were selected as dependent variables. Results: The optimized liposomes had an average particle size of 109. 8 ± 1.4 nm, polydispersity index 0.218 ± 1.2, zeta potential +19.30 ± 2.46 mV, and with entrapment efficiency 70.16 ± 1.6 %. These liposomes were entrapped in eudragit coated beads and these beads were characterized for their size, swelling index and in vitro drug release.The in vitro drug release depicted that no release was observed till 6 hrs and a sustained and significant drug release was noted after 6.5 hr. Conclusion: The stability studies indicated that liposomes were stable at 4°C depicting little aggregation of the vesicles. The research suggested that curcumin-loaded liposomes bearing eudragit coated calcium alginate beads can be effectively used for colonic delivery.

Improvement of Pulmonary Photodynamic Therapy: Nebulisation of Curcumin-Loaded Tetraether Liposomes.

Lung cancer is one of the most common causes for a high number of cancer related mortalities worldwide. Therefore, it is important to improve the therapy by finding new targets and developing convenient therapies. One of these novel non-invasive strategies is the combination of pulmonary delivered tetraether liposomes and photodynamic therapy. In this study, liposomal model formulations containing the photosensitiser curcumin were nebulised via two different technologies, vibrating-mesh nebulisation and air-jet nebulisation, and compared with each other. Particle size and ζ-potential of the liposomes were investigated using dynamic light scattering and laser Doppler anemometry, respectively. Furthermore, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to determine the morphological characteristics. Using a twin glass impinger, suitable aerodynamic properties were observed, with the fine particle fraction of the aerosols being ≤62.7 ± 1.6%. In vitro irradiation experiments on lung carcinoma cells (A549) revealed an excellent cytotoxic response of the nebulised liposomes in which the stabilisation of the lipid bilayer was the determining factor. Internalisation of nebulised curcumin-loaded liposomes was visualised utilising confocal laser scanning microscopy. Based on these results, the pulmonary application of curcumin-loaded tetraether liposomes can be considered as a promising approach for the photodynamic therapy against lung cancer.

Manufacturing of 3D-Printed Microfluidic Devices for the Synthesis of Drug-Loaded Liposomal Formulations.

Microfluidic technique has emerged as a promising tool for the production of stable and monodispersed nanoparticles (NPs). In particular, this work focuses on liposome production by microfluidics and on factors involved in determining liposome characteristics. Traditional fabrication techniques for microfluidic devices suffer from several disadvantages, such as multistep processing and expensive facilities. Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has been revolutionary for microfluidic device production, boasting facile and low-cost fabrication. In this study, microfluidic devices with innovative micromixing patterns were developed using fused deposition modelling (FDM) and liquid crystal display (LCD) printers. To date, this work is the first to study liposome production using LCD-printed microfluidic devices. The current study deals with 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) liposomes with cholesterol (2:1) prepared using commercial and 3D-printed microfluidic devices. We evaluated the effect of microfluidic parameters, chip manufacturing, material, and channel design on liposomal formulation by analysing the size, PDI, and ζ-potential. Curcumin exhibits potent anticancer activity and it has been reported that curcumin-loaded liposomes formulated by microfluidics show enhanced encapsulation efficiency when compared with other reported systems. In this work, curcumal liposomes were produced using the developed microfluidic devices and particle sizing, ζ-potential, encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro release studies were performed at 37 °C.

Novel concept of exosome-like liposomes for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Exosomes are cell-derived vesicles that act as carriers for proteins and nucleic acids, with therapeutic potential and high biocompatibility. We propose a new concept of exosome-like liposomes for controlled delivery.The goal of this work was to develop a new type of liposomes with a unique mixture of phospholipids, similar to naturally occurring exosomes but overcoming their limitations of heterogeneity and low productivity, for therapeutic delivery of bioactive compounds. Curcumin was chosen as model compound, as it is a phytochemical molecule known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which can protect the brain against oxidative stress and reduce β-amyloid accumulation, major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD).These new liposomes can efficiently encapsulate hydrophobic curcumin, yielding particles with a size smaller than 200 nm, and a polydispersity index lower than 0.20, which make them ideal for crossing the blood-brain barrier. These particles have a long shelf life, being stable up to 6 months. The curcumin encapsulation efficiency was higher than 85% (up to approximately 94%). Curcumin-loaded liposomes were not cytotoxic (up to 20 μM curcumin, and 200 μM of exo-liposomes), and significantly reduced oxidative stress induced in SH-SY5Y neuronal cells, indicating their potential for neuroprotection. They also do not show any toxicity and are internalized in zebrafish embryos, concentrating in lipid enriched areas, as the brain and the yolk sac.Such innovative carriers are a new effective approach to deliver drugs into the brain, as these are stable, protect the cargo and are uptaken by neuronal cells. Upon internalization, liposomes release the therapeutic biomolecules, resulting in successful neuroprotection, being a positive alternative strategy for AD therapy.

Curcumin-loaded liposomes with the hepatic and lysosomal dual-targeted effects for therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma

Curcumin can induce cancer cell apoptosis through lysosomal permeabilization pathway. However, the poor selectivity of curcumin restricts its use in the therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma. Because galactose group can recognize ASGPR overexpressed on hepatoma cells and morpholine group can target to the lysosome, they are integrated into a dual-targeted lipid material with low toxicity. The corresponding galactose-morpholine modified liposomes loaded with curcumin (Gal-Mor-LPs) were prepared and evaluated in comparison with conventional liposomes (LPs) and galactose modified liposomes (Gal-LPs). The in vitro and in vivo hepatic targeting capacity of liposomes followed a trend of LPs < Gal-LPs < Gal-Mor-LPs. The endocytosis of Gal-Mor-LPs was competitively inhibited by galactose, which confirmed the galactose modified liposomes entered hepatoma cells via ASGPR-mediated pathway. Gal-Mor-LPs displayed more excellent lysosomal targeting efficacy than LPs and Gal-LPs due to the attraction of acidic lysosome on basic morpholine group of Gal-Mor-LPs. The in vivo tumor inhibition effects of formulations also followed a trend of free curcumin < LPs < Gal-LPs < Gal-Mor-LPs, confirming that hepatic and lysosomal dual-targeting vehicle can improve the antitumor efficacy of curcumin. Moreover, the curcumin-loaded liposomes modified with galactose and morpholine moieties show good biocompatibility in vivo.

The Comparison of In Vitro Photosensitizing Efficacy of Curcumin-Loaded Liposomes Following Photodynamic Therapy on Melanoma MUG-Mel2, Squamous Cell Carcinoma SCC-25, and Normal Keratinocyte HaCaT Cells.

The research focused on the investigation of curcumin encapsulated in hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine liposomes and its increased photoactive properties in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The goal of this study was two-fold: to emphasize the role of a natural photoactive plant-based derivative in the liposomal formulation as an easily bioavailable, alternative photosensitizer (PS) for the use in PDT of skin malignancies. Furthermore, the goal includes to prove the decreased cytotoxicity of phototoxic agents loaded in liposomes toward normal skin cells. Research was conducted on melanoma (MugMel2), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC-25), and normal human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cell lines. The assessment of viability with MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) evaluated cell death after exposure to blue light irradiation after 4 h of pre-incubation with free and encapsulated curcumin. Additionally, the wound healing assay, flow cytometry, and immunocytochemistry to detect apoptosis were performed. The malignant cells revealed increased phototoxicity after the therapy in comparison to normal cells. Moreover, liposome curcumin-based photodynamic therapy showed an increased ratio of apoptotic and necrotic cells. The study also demonstrated that nanocurcumin significantly decreased malignant cell motility following PDT treatment. Acquired results suggest that liposomal formulation of a poor soluble natural compound may improve photosensitizing properties of curcumin-mediated PDT treatment in skin cancers and reduce toxicity in normal keratinocytes.

Ascorbyl palmitate effects on the stability of curcumin-loaded soybean phosphatidylcholine liposomes

The effect of ascorbyl palmitate (AP) on the physical stability of soy phosphatidylcholine (SPC) liposomes and the retention rate of curcumin loaded into SPC liposomes enriched with different concentrations of AP was studied. Results showed that the transmittance, stability coefficient and particle size of liposomes were all influenced by the addition of AP. The highest stability of AP-stabilized liposomes was achieved when the mass ratio of SPC to AP was at 50:5 by increasing the surface charge, as indicated by an increase in ζ-potential from −15.1 mV (pure liposome) to −35.4 mV (AP-enriched SPC). Beyond this ratio, excessive AP addition was unfavorable to the stability of liposomes. Also at this 10% ratio, small angle X-ray scattering and differential scanning calorimetry results showed the strongest interaction between AP and the SPC liposomes, with the altering of the bilayer structure and the main phase transition temperature. Atomic force microscopy results showed that the addition of AP did not obviously change the vesicle microstructure but increased the vesicle height and contact angle. When curcumin was loaded into AP-enriched liposomes as a model bioactive, the best storage stability was observed in the liposome formulation with 10% added AP, which correlated well with the physical stability of the system. These results open up the possibility of AP-modified liposomes being developed as a multifunctional formulation for encapsulating and delivering nutraceuticals.