title: Fluorescence study of the curcumin-casein micelle complexation and its application as a drug nanocarrier to cancer cells.
abstract: In milk caseins exists a natural nanostructure, which can be exploited as a carrier of hydrophobic drugs. Here we investigated the complex formation of curcumin with bovine casein micelles (CMs) and its use as a vehicle for drug delivery to cancer cells. DLS studies of the CM suspension that was stable in buffer solution (pH 7.4) showed an average size distribution of <200 nm. SEM and AFM studies showed that the particles were roughly spherical in shape. Steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy of the CM-curcumin complex formation revealed that curcumin molecules formed complexes with CMs (CM-curcumin complex) through hydrophobic interactions. The binding constant for the CM-curcumin interaction was calculated to be 1.48 x 10(4) M(-1), as determined by the curcumin fluorescence. Fluorescence quenching showed that curcumin molecules quench the intrinsic fluorescence of caseins upon binding. We evaluated the utility of CMs as carriers of curcumin by using in vitro cultured HeLa cells. Cytotoxicity studies of HeLa cells revealed that the IC50 of free curcumin and the CM-curcumin complex was 14.85 and 12.69 microM, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati-781039 Assam, India.
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sahu
authors.forename: Naresh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kasoju
authors.forename: Utpal
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bora
mesh_terms: D002364:Caseins / Q000737:chemistry*; D002470:Cell Survival; D003474:Curcumin / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008823:Micelles; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011485:Protein Binding; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002364:Caseins; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008823:Micelles; D003474:Curcumin