title: Conjugation of curcumin onto alginate enhances aqueous solubility and stability of curcumin.
abstract: Curcumin is a potential drug for various diseases including cancer. Prime limitations associated with curcumin are low water solubility, rapid hydrolytic degradation and poor bioavailability. In order to redress these issues we developed Alginate-Curcumin (Alg-Ccm) conjugate which was characterized by FTIR and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The conjugate self-assembled in aqueous solution forming micelles with an average hydrodynamic diameter of 459 ± 0.32 nm and negative zeta potential. The spherical micelles were visualized by TEM. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of Alg-Ccm conjugate was determined. A significant enhancement in the aqueous solubility of curcumin was observed upon conjugation with alginate. Formation of micelles improved the stability of curcumin in water at physiological pH. The cytotoxic activity of Alg-Ccm was quantified by MTT assay using L-929 fibroblast cells and it was found to be potentially cytotoxic. Hence, Alg-Ccm could be a promising drug conjugate as well as a nanosized delivery vehicle.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Polymer Analysis, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Poojapura, Trivandrum 695012, India.
authors.forename: Soma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dey
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sreenivasan
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003474:Curcumin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D004355:Drug Stability; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D051379:Mice; D008823:Micelles; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D010316:Particle Size; D012995:Solubility; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D004337:Drug Carriers; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D008823:Micelles; D014867:Water; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D003474:Curcumin
keywords: (Alg); (Ccm); Alginate; CMC; Curcumin; Cytotoxicity; Polymer-drug conjugates; alginate; curcumin