ABSTRACT
Objective: In order to improve the water solubility and bioavailability of curcumin in cancer therapy, we prepared and tested a novel waterborne cationic polyurethane [PU] as a nano-carrier for curcumin loading [CU-PU]. We studied the effect of this prepared nano-drug on melanoma [F10B16] and fibroblasts cells [L929]
Methods: Morphology, size and cell internalization ability of the prepared nanoparticles were analyzed by zetasizer, SEM, AFM and fluorescent microscopy, respectively. We anticipated that curcumin was loaded in the hydrophobic core of the PU carrier. Next, the suitable dose and therapeutic effects of CU-PU for both skin cancer and normal cell lines were evaluated by the MTT assay and real-time PCR
Results: The average diameters and polydispersity of the nanoparticles were 62.37 +/- 1.7 nm and 0.080 +/- 2.1 at 25 C, respectively. The drug encapsulation efficiency was 87 +/- 0.2%. The morphological analysis confirmed both a spherical shape and good dispersion without remarkable aggregation. The MTT assay results showed that the IC50 at 24 hours was 36.2 microM, whereas it was 25.4 microM at 48 hours. Real-time PCR results indicated that the CU-PU significantly decreased mRNA expressions of VEGF, Bcl-2, MMP-9 and COX-2 genes. An increase in mRNA expression of the BAX gene was also observed
Conclusion: Our result provided acceptable evidence for cell proliferation inhibition and the apoptotic effect of CU-PU on skin cancer cells. There were no adverse effects detected for normal cells
ABSTRACT
Curcumin as a yellow natural compound extracted from turmeric root is known it as an antibacterial agent. One of the nanoparticles ability is to decrease the defects of usual drug delivery systems. Chitosan is a low toxic, biodegradable, biocompatible and safe polymer which is used in production of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles like chitosan-tripolyphosphate [TPP] are able to increase antibacterial properties of curcumin. Curcumin-loaded chitosan-TPP nanoparticles containing chitosan, curcumin and TPP salt were synthesized by ionotropic gelation methods. First, the skin of anesthetized mice was inoculated with staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa suspension. Then the infected mice were treated with curcumin-loaded chitosan-TPP nanoparticles for 3 days. Following that, antibacterial characteristics of the mice treated with curcumin-loaded chitosan- TPP nanoparticles were evaluated by bacterial culture of these mice. Our results showed the size of 160 +/- 10 nm and the charge of +7 +/- 2 mV in curcumin-loaded chitosan-TPP nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were also spiral shape. The encapsulation efficiency of curcumin in chitosan-TPP nanoparticles was 75 +/- 2%. Bacterial culture showed that curcumin-loaded chitosan-TPP nanoparticles inhibited staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa growth. Our study demonstrated that curcumin-loaded chitosan-TPP nanoparticles can be utilized as a potent agent in treatment of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections