Preparation, optimization, and dissolution characteristics of curcumin nanoparticles lyophilized powder by antisolvent method / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: Curcumin nanoparticles lyophilized powder (CNLP) were prepared by antisolvent method which was optimized using single factor method. In this process, acetone was used as solvent, deionized water was used as antisolvent, tween-80 was used as surfactant and mannitol was used as lyoprotectant. Methods: The main factors affecting the particle size of CNLP included the concentration of curcumin, volume ratio of solvent and antisolvent, dosage of surfactant, precipitation time, stirring speed, and dosage of lyoprotectant. The contrast experiments on dissolution in vitro was done between CNLP and raw curcumin powder. Results: The mean particle size of CNLP was (172.2 ± 4.6) nm; The Zeta potential of CNLP redissolving in water was (-19.7 ± 3.7) mV. The SEM graphs indicated the raw curcumin was in irregular and massive shape and its particle size was about 20 μm. The CNLP exhibited regular block structure and its particle size was about 170 nm which was obviously reduced compared with raw curcumin. The mean particle size of CNLP obtained from laser particle analyzer was in accord with the morphology of CNLP. The saturated solubility of CNLP was 41.32 times of raw curcumin powder in deionized water, 1.74 times in simulated gastric fluid and 4.11 times in simulated intestinal fluid through saturated solubility test, respectively. The dissolution rate of CNLP was 14.51 times of raw curcumin powder in water dissolution medium, 2.33 times in simulated gastric fluid and 44.79 times in simulated intestinal fluid through dissolution determination, respectively. Conclusion: The preparation process of CNLP using antisolvent method could improve the drawback of poor water solubility and enhance the bioavailability of curcumin.