Curcumin Loading Research Articles

Cur-loaded magnetic ZnFe2O4@L-cysteine – Ox, N-rich mesoporous -gC3N4 nanocarriers as a targeted sonodynamic chemotherapeutic agent for enhanced tumor eradication

L-cysteine (L-Cys)-encapsulated ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) (ZnFe2O4@L-cysteine) were prepared and then combined with Ox, N-rich mpg-C3N4 nanosheets (ZnFe2O4@L-cysteine- Ox, N-rich mpg-C3N4) (Ox, N-rich mpg-C3N4 as known oxygen-containing functional groups and nitrogen-rich mesoporous graphite-phase carbon nitride). The product was used for targeted delivery of pharmaceutical species and combined therapy. The resulting nanocarrier materials were characterized by HR-TEM, FE-SEM, EDS analysis and element mapping images, FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, VSM, MTT assay, zeta potential and BET surface area meaurements were performed. The synergistic effect of zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) and Ox, N -rich mpg-C3N4 semiconductor was makes the resuting material a candidate for use as a nanosonosensitizer (NSS) for chemosonodynamic therapy (CSDT) and the loading of Curcumin (Cur), which is used to treat lung human cancer cells (A549). The fabricated ZnFe2O4@L-cysteine– Ox, N -rich mp-g-C3N4 nanocarriers exhibited ultrasound (US), as well as, in vitro pH- dependent release of Cur. Upon incubation of with cancer cells in thepresence of the material, O2, O2−., OH., HO2. (reactive oxygen species (ROS)) were efficiently generated upon irradiation with US waves. The application of ZnFe2O4@L-cysteine– Ox, N -rich mpg-C3N4 nanocarriers, as a tool for enhancing the efficacy of ROS through tumor microenvironment is a key strategy for treating some cancers. The developed biodegradable compound was intended to act as a smart drug delivery nanocarriers, with pH and ultrasound trigger and to play a semi-enzymatic sonocatalytic function. The use of deeply penetrating ultrasound waves as the excitation trigger allows the developed nanocarrier to leave hybrid chemotheraputic and SDT effects on the tumors, further to its drug-release function in a pH of 5.5 (rather than in 7.4), which makes it further suitable for delivery of canccer drugs to cells.

Interaction behavior of curcumin encapsulated onto functionalized SBA-15 as an efficient carrier and release in drug delivery

In this work, mesoporous silica SBA-15 was prepared and functionalized with amine groups (i.e., NH2) to form NH2/SBA-15. The curcumin (CUR) was encapsulated into the surface and pore of NH2/SBA-15 to create CUR@NH2/SBA-15 as an efficient carrier in drug delivery systems (DDSs). The three samples (i.e., SBA-15, NH2/SBA-15, and CUR@NH2/SBA-15) were characterized. The study investigated the effect of the carrier dose, initial CUR concentration, pH, and contact time on the CUR loading efficiency (DLE%) via adsorption. The best DLE% for the SBA-15 and NH2/SBA-15 were found to be 45% and 89.7%, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm had a greater correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.998 for SBA-15. A pseudo-second-order kinetic model seemed to fit well with R2 = 0.9998 for SBA-15 and R2 = 0.9993 for NH2/SBA-15. A phosphate buffer solution (PBS) with a pH of 7.4 was utilized to study the CUR release behavior. As a result, the full release after 72 h was found to have a maximum of 82.6% and 41.2% for SBA-15 and NH2/SBA-15, respectively. The first-order, Weibull, Hixson-Crowell, Korsmeyer-Peppas, and Higuchi kinetic release models were applied. The Weibull model estimated the kinetics of the CUR release from SBA-15 and NH2/SBA-15 with R2 = 0.814 and 0.808, respectively.

Cur@SF NPs alleviate Friedreich\u2019s ataxia in a mouse model through synergistic iron chelation and antioxidation

Abnormal iron metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction and the derived oxidative damage are the main pathogeneses of Friedrich's ataxia (FRDA), a single-gene inherited recessive neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cerebellar and sensory ataxia. This disease is caused by frataxin (FXN) mutation, which reduces FXN expression and impairs iron sulfur cluster biogenesis. To date, there is no effective therapy to treat this condition. Curcumin is proposed harboring excellent ability to resist oxidative stress through Nrf2 activation and its newly found ability to chelate iron. However, its limitation is its poor water solubility and permeability. Here, we synthesized slow-release nanoparticles (NPs) by loading curcumin (Cur) into silk fibroin (SF) to form NPs with an average size of 150 nm (Cur@SF NPs), which exhibited satisfactory therapeutic effects on the improvement of FRDA manifestation in lymphoblasts (1 μM) derived from FRDA patients and in YG8R mice (150 mg/kg/5 days). Cur@SF NPs not only removed iron from the heart and diminished oxidative stress in general but also potentiate iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis, which compensates FXN deficiency to improve the morphology and function of mitochondria. Cur@SF NPs showed a significant advantage in neuron and myocardial function, thereby improving FRDA mouse behavior scores. These data encourage us to propose that Cur@SF NPs are a promising therapeutic compound in the application of FRDA disease.Graphical

A Comparison Study of Fiber Diameter's Effect on Characteristic Features of Donepezil/Curcumin‐Loaded Polycaprolactone/Polylactic Acid Nanofibers

AbstractNanofibers (NFs) offer an alternative option for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by addressing unmet clinical problems. In this study, anti‐AD drugs, donepezil (DO) and curcumin (CUR), are loaded in polylactic acid/polycaprolactone NFs. The effect of fiber diameter on drug release behavior is mainly observed, and the successful loading of DO and CUR to NFs is demonstrated. The tensile strength of DO/CUR‐loaded NFs (DNFs) with lower fiber diameter is found to be higher. The working temperature is increased by the decrease of glass transition temperature and increase of the melting temperature after loading drugs. Furthermore, the increase in the percentage of swelling and decrease in the degradation rate for NFs are observed due to the increase of fiber diameter. Encapsulation efficiency and burst release percentages for DNFs are augmented by the increase of fiber diameter. Nevertheless, DNFs exhibit a sustained drug release manner over 2 weeks. NFs do not demonstrate a toxic effect on L929 (mouse fibroblast) cells, and additionally, they promote cell proliferation. Considering all these results, it is proven that the fiber diameter affects all characteristic features of NFs, and DNFs lead to a new and promising drug delivery system for the treatment of AD.

Influence of Chain Length of Gradient and Block Copoly(2-oxazoline)s on Self-Assembly and Drug Encapsulation.

Amphiphilic gradient copolymers represent a promising alternative to extensively used block copolymers due to their facile one-step synthesis by statistical copolymerization of monomers of different reactivity. Herein, an in-depth analysis is provided of micelles based on amphiphilic gradient poly(2-oxazoline)s with different chain lengths to evaluate their potential for micellar drug delivery systems and compare them to the analogous diblock copolymer micelles. Size, morphology, and stability of self-assembled nanoparticles, loading of hydrophobic drug curcumin, as well as cytotoxicities of the prepared nanoformulations are examined using copoly(2-oxazoline)s with varying chain lengths and comonomer ratios. In addition to several interesting differences between the two copolymer architecture classes, such as more compact self-assembled structures with faster exchange dynamics for the gradient copolymers, it is concluded that gradient copolymers provide stable curcumin nanoformulations with comparable drug loadings to block copolymer systems and benefit from more straightforward copolymer synthesis. The study demonstrates the potential of amphiphilic gradient copolymers as a versatile platform for the synthesis of new polymer therapeutics.

Synthesis, characterization and in vitro evaluation of dendrimer-MWCNT reinforced SrHAP composite for bone tissue engineering

This study aimed to improve the mechanical, drug loading/release and bioactive characteristics of hydroxyapatite (HAP). The covalent functionalization of PAMAM dendrimer with MWCNT (d-MWCNT), and in situ synthesis of strontium substituted HAP (SrHAP) on d-MWCNT yielded a composite, d-MWCNT-SrHAP. The composite was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, HR-SEM, AFM, EDS, TGA and zeta potential. It was hydrophilic (water contact angle 25.25 ± 4.21°), porous (89.63 ± 2.4%), bioresorbable, mechanically strong (0.415 ± 0.04 GPa) and protein adsorbing. The d-MWCNT-SrHAP exhibited a 30-fold increase in curcumin loading and a 1.7-fold delay in burst release compared to SrHAP. Further, in vitro studies using human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells demonstrated that the curcumin-loaded composite, d-MWCNT-SrHAP-C, encouraged osteoblast survival, proliferation, differentiation and matrix mineralization. The desirable physico-chemical properties and in vitro bioactivity of the d-MWCNT-SrHAP-C composite strongly suggest its potential application as a drug delivery system in hard tissue engineering.

Curcumin and Graphene Oxide Incorporated into Alginate Hydrogels as Versatile Devices for the Local Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

With the aim of preparing hybrid hydrogels suitable for use as patches for the local treatment of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)-affected areas, curcumin (CUR) was loaded onto graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets, which were then blended into an alginate hydrogel that was crosslinked by means of calcium ions. The homogeneous incorporation of GO within the polymer network, which was confirmed through morphological investigations, improved the stability of the hybrid system compared to blank hydrogels. The weight loss in the 100–170 °C temperature range was reduced from 30% to 20%, and the degradation of alginate chains shifted to higher temperatures. Moreover, GO enhanced the stability in water media by counteracting the de-crosslinking process of the polymer network. Cell viability assays showed that the loading of CUR (2.5% and 5% by weight) was able to reduce the intrinsic toxicity of GO towards healthy cells, while higher amounts were ineffective due to the antioxidant/prooxidant paradox. Interestingly, the CUR-loaded systems were found to possess a strong cytotoxic effect in SCC cancer cells, and the sustained CUR release (~50% after 96 h) allowed long-term anticancer efficiency to be hypothesized.

Mono-Dendronized β-Cyclodextrin Derivatives as Multitasking Containers for Curcumin. Impacting Its Solubility, Loading, and Tautomeric Form.

In this study, three mono-dendronized β-cyclodextrin (βCD) derivatives (βCD-1G, βCD-2G, and βCD-3G) were used as multitasking containers of curcumin (CUR) to influence its aqueous solubility and tautomerism, both of which are related to its biological activity. We evaluated the relevant physicochemical properties of these containers associated with their potential hosting capacity. All mono-dendronized derivatives exhibited enhanced solubility in different solvents, including water, in comparison with native βCD. Gas-phase geometry optimizations by density functional theory (DFT) confirmed that none of the dendrons blocked the passage of CUR into the βCD cavity, and depending on the generation, different preorganization scenarios were promoted before complexation. Phase solubility diagrams showed that all the dendronized containers have superior performance for solubilizing CUR compared to native βCD. We proved that coprecipitation is most efficient than lyophilization for forming inclusion complexes (ICs) with dendronized containers. Even though βCD-3G with the largest 3G dendron exhibited the highest CUR loading, the complexation of CUR with βCD-2G provided the supramolecular system that contains CUR preferentially in its diketo tautomer, which is known for its antioxidant activity.

Construction and evaluation of curcumin upconversion nanocarriers decorated with MnO2 for tumor photodynamic therapy.

The limited tissue penetration depth and tumor hypoxic microenvironment have become the two pivotal obstacles that alleviate the antineoplastic efficacy in tumor photodynamic therapy (PDT). In the research, MnO2-decorated upconversion nanoparticles (UCSMn) have been designed to generate certain oxygen within the solid tumor, and also increase the light penetrating depth due to the optical conversion ability derived from upconversion nanoparticles. Furthermore, upconversion nanoparticles as the inner core are coated by mesoporous silica for the loading of curcumin as photosensitizer and chemotherapeutics, and then a MnO2 shell is proceeding to grow via redox method. When reaching the tumor tissue, the MnO2 nanoshells of UCSMn could be rapidly degraded into manganese ions (Mn2+) owing to the reaction with H2O2 in acidic tumor microenvironment, meanwhile producing oxygen and facilitating curcumin release. Once the tumor is illuminated by 980nm light, the upconversion nanoparticles can transform the infrared light to visible light of 450nm and 475.5nm, which can be efficiently absorbed by curcumin, and then produce singlet oxygen to induce tumor cell apoptosis. Curcumin played a dual role which can not only be acted as a photosensitizer, but also a chemotherapeutic agent to further reinforce the antitumor activity. In short, the intelligent nanostructure has the potential to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings existed in PDT and eventually do work well in the hypoxia tumors. MnO2-decorated upconversion nanoparticle to solve the tissue penetration and tumor hypoxic microenvironment for tumor photodynamic therapy.

Fabrication of heat-treated soybean protein isolate-EGCG complex nanoparticle as a functional carrier for curcumin

In this study, soybean protein isolate (SPI) was first heat-treated to yield modified SPI (HSPI). Then SPI- and HSPI-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) biopolymers (SPI-E and HSPI-E) were fabricated using an alkali covalent crosslinking method and their abilities to function as novel delivery carriers to load curcumin (Cur) were investigated. The particle size of loaded-Cur SPI-E and HSPI-E complex nanoparticles (SPI-E-C and HSPI-E-C) were all reduced and the zeta-potentials were all negative. FTIR and fluorescence spectra analysis indicated the presence of hydrogen bondings, hydrophobic interactions, and electrostatic interactions were the driving force for the formation of the carrier-Cur complex. Moreover, compared with SPI-E, HSPI-E had a high loading rate of Cur, improved bioaccessibility and scavenging capacity, smaller size, thinner sheet shape morphology, and stronger binding affinity. In its protective capacity as a delivery carrier, HSPI-E significantly improved the thermal stability, acid stability and controlled release characteristics of Cur, thereby overcoming the instability of a single protein carrier and possessing superior properties. These findings indicate that the HSPI-E polymer is a favorable carrier for delivering Cur and suit for development as a delivery polymer carrier to protect hydrophobic nutraceuticals and drugs with high-loading rate-performance and health-related functions without the use of crosslinkers.

Improvement of curcumin loading into a nanoporous functionalized poor hydrolytic stable metal-organic framework for high anticancer activity against human gastric cancer AGS cells

Two low water-stable nanoporous Zn-based Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) with and without the NO2-functional group were synthesized by the reflux method and used to encapsulate curcumin (CCM). The characterization and application of these Zn-based MOFs (DMOF-1 and DMOF-1-NO2) have been studied by FT-IR, PXRD,1H NMR, N2 adsorption, SEM, UV-vis, and fluorescence microscopy methods. The amount of drug loading of DMOF-1 and DMOF-1-NO2 is 22.4 and 28.3 wt%, respectively. The drug loading results were also investigated by the computational simulation method. These kinds of MOFs have poor stability against water. This instability was used as a key to solving the problem of the low solubility of CCM as a model of hydrophobic cancer drug in a water-based medium. The obtained results confirmed that these poor hydrolytic MOFs could improve the solubility of CCM and enhance cytotoxicity against cancer cells (AGS) in comparison with free CCM. These results can prepare a new opportunity to increase the anticancer activity of hydrophobic drugs.

Highly Soluble and Stable, High Release Rate Nanocellulose Codrug Delivery System of Curcumin and AuNPs for Dual Chemo-Photothermal Therapy.

As a natural antitumor drug, curcumin (CUR) has received increasing attention from researchers and patients due to its various medicinal properties. However, currently CUR is still restricted due to its low and stand-alone therapeutic effects that seriously limit its clinical application. Here, by using cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as a nanocarrier to load CUR and AuNPs simultaneously, we developed a hybrid nanoparticle as a codrug delivery system to enhance the low and stand-alone therapeutic effects of CUR. Aided with the encapsulation of β-cyclodextrin (βCD), both the solubility and the stability of CUR are greatly enhanced (solubility increased from 0.89 to 131.7 μg/mL). Owing to the unique rod-like morphology of CNCs, the system exhibits an outstanding loading capacity of 31.4 μg/mg. Under the heat effects of coloaded AuNPs, the system demonstrates a high release rate of 77.63%. Finally, with CNC as a bridge nanocarrier, all aforementioned functions were integrated into one hybrid nanoparticle. The all-in-one integration ensures CUR to have enhanced therapeutic effects and enables the delivery system to exhibit combined chemo-photothermal therapy outcomes. This work presents a significant step toward CUR's clinical application and provides a new strategy for effective and integrative treatment of tumor disease.

In Vitro Efficacy of Curcumin-Loaded Amine-Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles against MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.

Purpose: Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have drawn substantial interest as drug nanocarriers for breast cancer therapy. Nevertheless, because of the hydrophilic surfaces, the loading of well-known hydrophobic polyphenol anticancer agent curcumin (Curc) into MSNs is usually very low. Methods: For this purpose, Curc molecules were loaded into amine-functionalized MSNs (MSNs-NH2 -Curc) and characterized using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). MTT assay and confocal microscopy, respectively, were used to determine the cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of the MSNs-NH2 - Curc in the MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Besides, the expression levels of apoptotic genes were evaluated via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot. Results: It was revealed that MSNs-NH2 possessed high values of drug loading efficiency and exhibited slow and sustained drug release compared to bare MSNs. According to the MTT findings, while the MSNs-NH2 -Curc were nontoxic to the human non-tumorigenic MCF-10A cells at low concentrations, it could considerably decrease the viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells compared to the free Curc in all concentrations after 24, 48 and 72 hours exposure times. A cellular uptake study using confocal fluorescence microscopy confirmed the higher cytotoxicity of MSNs-NH2 -Curc in MCF-7 cells. Further, it was found that the MSNs-NH2 -Curc could drastically affect the mRNA and protein levels of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase 3, caspase 9, and hTERT relative to the free Curc treatment. Conclusion: Taken together, these preliminary results suggest the amine-functionalized MSNs-based drug delivery platform as a promising alternative approach for Curc loading and safe breast cancer treatment.

Efficient loading of curcumin into CTAB micelle-embedded silica particles for visualized pH detection

Incorporation of curcumin (Cur) into silica (SiO2) matrix has been considered to be an effective way to improve its dispersing ability, stability and performance in aqueous media. In this work, we demonstrate a facile approach for highly efficient encapsulation (≥ 99%) of Cur into SiO2 particles embedded with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles. Emission properties of Cur loaded are well dependent on the packing fashion of CTAB micelles embedded in the SiO2 particles. Cur loaded in the CTAB micelles quasi-crystalline in structure was sensitive to the variation in pH of the surrounding media, attributed to gradual deprotonation of Cur with the elevated pH. In comparison, Cur loaded in the CTAB micelles amorphous in character was less sensitive to the change of pH due to the direct electrostatic interaction between Cur and CTAB. Further incorporation of a green emissive dye, i.e., into the Cur doped silica particles allows the fabrication of multicolor SiO2 particles qualified for visualized detection of pH.

Enhanced curcumin loaded nanocellulose: a possible inhalable nanotherapeutic to treat COVID-19.

Nanocellulose/polyvinyl alcohol/curcumin (CNC/PVA/curcumin) nanoparticles with enhanced drug loading properties were developed by the dispersion of nanocellulose in curcumin/polyvinyl alcohol aqueous medium. Due to the physical and chemical nature of sulphuric acid hydrolyzed nanocellulose and the antiviral properties of curcumin, the possibility of using these nanoparticles as an inhalable nanotherapeutic for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is discussed. The adsorption of curcumin and PVA into nanocellulose, and the presence of anionic sulphate groups, which is important for the interaction with viral glycoproteins were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. FESEM images showed that the diameter of nanocellulose ranged from 50 to 100 nm, which is closer to the diameter (60–140 nm) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The solubility of poorly water-soluble curcumin was increased from 40.58 ± 1.42 to 313.61 ± 1.05 mg/L with increasing the PVA concentration from 0.05 to 0.8% (w/v) in aqueous medium. This is a significant increase in the solubility compared to curcumin’s solubility in carboxymethyl cellulose medium in our previous study. The drug loading capacity increased by 22-fold with the addition of 0.8% PVA to the nanocellulose dispersed curcumin solution. The highest drug release increased from 1.25 ± 0.15 mg/L to 17.11 ± 0.22 mg/L with increasing the PVA concentration from 0 to 0.8% in the drug-loaded medium. Future studies of this material will be based on the antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and cell cytotoxicity studies. Due to the particulate nature, morphology and size of SARS-CoV-2, nanoparticle-based strategies offer a strong approach to tackling this virus. Hence, we believe that the enhanced loading of curcumin in nanocellulose will provide a promising nano-based solution for the treatment of COVID-19.Graphical abstract

Curcumin loaded Ag-TiO2-halloysite nanotubes platform for combined chemo-photodynamic therapy treatment of cancer cells.

The use of naturally occurring anticancer materials in combination with doped metal oxide has emerged as one of the most promising ways for improving anticancer treatment efficacy. In this study, the anticancer potential of curcumin-loaded Ag-TiO2-halloysite nanotubes (curcumin-loaded Ag-TiO2-HNTs) was examined. Ag-TiO2-HNTs with different wt% of Ag-TiO2 were synthesized and characterized using XRD, TGA, FT-IR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and SEM-EDX. The XRD results revealed the presence of crystalline TiO2. However, the presence of Ag was detected through the SEM-EDX analysis. Cyclic voltammetry measurements suggested the enhancement of the release of ROS from TiO2 upon deposition with Ag. FT-IR and TGA analysis confirmed the successful loading of curcumin inside the nanotubes of the halloysite. In vitro drug released studies revealed the release of approximately 80-99% curcumin within 48 hours. Kinetic model studies revealed that the release of curcumin from HNT and Ag-TiO2-HNT followed the first-order and Higuchi models, respectively. The light irradiated curcumin-loaded Ag-TiO2-HNTs samples exhibited considerable anticancer potential as compared to the free curcumin, irradiated Ag-TiO2 NPs samples, and unirradiated curcumin loaded Ag-TiO2-HNTs samples. The obtained results revealed that combined chemo- and photodynamic therapy using curcumin-loaded Ag-TiO2-HNTs nanomaterial has the potential as an effective anticancer treatment method.

Nanogels loading curcumin in situ through microemulsion photopolymerization for enhancement of antitumor effects

Drug-loaded nanogels for cancer treatment can limit the free diffusion and distribution of drug molecules in the whole body to reduce undesirable side effects and improve the drug absorption efficiency of the tumor. In this study, curcumin as a model drug was encapsulated into nanogels in situ through microemulsion photopolymerization at 532 nm. Nanogels loaded with curcumin (NG-C) displayed a diameter of around 150 nm with good stability and a low polydispersity index of around 0.1. NG-C had a drug-loading capacity of 8.96 ± 1.16 wt%. The cumulative release of curcumin from NG-C was around 25%, 34% and 55% within 90 h in pH 7.4, 6.8 and 5.0 PBS buffer, respectively. NG-C presented prominent cytotoxicity toward Hep G2 and HeLa cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, NG-C exhibited much a stronger inhibition of tumor growth, necrosis, apoptosis, and the suppression of proliferation compared with curcumin on Hep G2 tumor-bearing nude mice.

Combined Ibuprofen and Curcumin Delivery Using Mg-MOF-74 as a Single Nanocarrier.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been extensively used as drug delivery platforms because of their considerable textural properties and physiochemical tunability. However, most medicinal treatments often administer multiple therapeutic pharmaceuticals simultaneously and combined drug delivery over a single MOF carrier has not been extensively developed. As such, in this study we implemented Mg-MOF-74, which is known to have rapid pharmacokinetic properties, for the combined delivery of ibuprofen and curcumin to demonstrate the proof-of-concept for dual-drug delivery over this previously unexplored MOF. To this end, 30 wt % total drug loading of two drugs was impregnated at various ratios (25:5 ibuprofen-curcumin, 20:5 ibuprofen-curcumin, 15:15 ibuprofen-curcumin, 10:20 ibuprofen-curcumin, and 5:25 ibuprofen-curcumin), and the drug delivery performance of the materials was assessed from 0 to 24 h in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The experiments revealed that all five ratios of ibuprofen-curcumin loadings can effectively deliver both compounds; however, elevating the curcumin loading beyond 10 wt % decreases the drug loading efficiency for ibuprofen and can also inhibit ibuprofen release. Nevertheless, because Mg-MOF-74 was able to successfully deliver both compounds, this study serves as a promising proof-of-concept for dual-drug delivery from a single MOF carrier. In this regard, the work demonstrated herein expands the use of MOFs for drug delivery applications and can be used to supplement drug administration via orally ingested tablets.

Inspiring biomimetic system based on red blood cell membrane vesicles for effective curcumin loading and release

The aim of this study is to introduce an inspiring biomimetic system based on the red blood cell membrane (RBCM) vesicles for improved encapsulation efficiency and release of curcumin (Cur). Here, the role of the sonication time (0.5, 1.5, 3 and 5 min) on the properties of RBCM-CUR vesicles is investigated. It is determined that the hydrodynamic vesicle size, zeta potential, and release behavior are tunable by changing the sonication time. Noticeably, the average size of vesicles decreased from 163.0 ± 21 nm to 116.3 ± 16 nm by increasing the sonication time from 0.5 to 5 min. Moreover, the drug release value, after 24 h incubation, enhances from 57 to 99% with the expansion of sonication from 0.5 to 5 min. Additionally, the entrapment efficiency of Cur as a model drug is high in whole sonication time, owing to the amphiphilic nature of RBCM. Finally, the RBCM-CUR vesicles are not only cytocompatible, but also could support the attachment and proliferation of fibroblast cells in vitro. The RBCM based system for delivery of Cur could be a promising system for the wound healing applications.

Diffusion Modeling and In Vitro Release Kinetics Studies of Curcumin−Loaded Superparamagnetic Nanomicelles in Cancer Drug Delivery System

The purpose of this study was to investigate in vitro drug release kinetics and to develop diffusion model of curcumin loaded Pluronic F127/Oleic acid(OA)-Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The prepared superparamagnetic nanoparticles by co-precipitation technique were characterized by the average size, size distribution, crystallinity, colloidal stability and magnetic property. The release of curcumin was triggered by an acidic environment in pH 5.0 of phosphate buffer saline. Release data of various curcumin loading (15, 25 and 30 ppm) were fitted using non-linear first−order, second−order, Higuchi and Korsmeyer−Peppas model. All the curcumin release mechanism followed Korsmeyer−Peppas model with n values less than 0.45 indicating the Fickian diffusion of curcumin from the prepared nanomicelles. The dynamic of controlled drug release of dilute curcumin loading was well described by a combination of diffusion and first-order release rate. The corresponding diffusion coefficient and kinetic rate were 9.1 × 10−7 cm2⋅min−1 and 6.51 × 10−7 min−1, which were used as controlled release to achieve the desired curcumin constant release rate in the delivery system.