Improving Antibacterial Efficiency of Curcumin in Magnetic Polymeric Nanocomposites

Abstract

In recent years, resistance to chemical antibiotics, as well as their side effects, has caused a necessity to utilize natural substances and herbal components with antibacterial effects. Curcumin, the major substance of Curcuma longa’s rhizome, was used as an antibacterial agent since ancient times. This work aimed to formulate a novel nanocomposite for the delivery of curcumin to overcome orthodox drugs resistance against bacteria and improve its efficacy. To fabricate targeting nanocomposites, first, Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized followed by coating the obtained nanoparticles using sodium alginate containing curcumin. A 2 by 3 factorial design was tailored to predict the optimum formulation of nanocomposites. Characterization of nanocomposites including particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and drug loading was performed. The optimum formulation was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and in vitro release study at different pHs. Finally, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of samples against seven common bacteria were determined. Results showed that the optimized formulation contained 400 nm particles with the PDI and zeta potentials of 0.4 and − 58 mV, respectively. The optimized formulation with 70% entrapment efficiency reduced the MIC value 2 to 4 times in comparison with pure curcumin. Results also showed that polymer and drug concentrations can significantly affect entrapment efficiency. In conclusion, the current investigation demonstrated that this magnetic nanocomposite can be applied for the delivery of curcumin. Graphical abstract

Curcumin Hybrid Lipid Polymeric Nanoparticles: Antioxidant Activity, Immune Cellular Response, and Cytotoxicity Evaluation

“…The FT-IR spectra of the components of nanoparticles, Plain-NP, free CUR, as well as the curcuminoid loaded NP were evaluated between 4000 and 1000 cm −1 and the results are shown in Figure 1 . The major signals of CUR in the spectra were similar to those reported in earlier studies [ 8 , 23 ].…”

Dextran-Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Loaded with Curcumin for Antimicrobial Therapies

“…In the biomedical area, curcumin has been widely used as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiapoptotic, and neuroprotective agent [ 61 , 62 , 63 ]. In the present study, curcumin was investigated for its antimicrobial properties against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and fungal strains [ 64 , 65 ]. While previously published papers have demonstrated a considerably greater sensitivity for Gram-positive than Gram-negative bacteria [ 66 ], our results indicated similar antimicrobial efficiency towards all the tested strains, thus proving the potential of the current drug-delivery systems to be used for a wide spectrum of microbial species.…”

Hyaluronic Acid-Modified ZIF-8 Nano-Vehicle for Self-Adaption Release of Curcumin for the Treatment of Burns

“…Compared with the control group, the Cur-Free group had almost no killing effect on bacteria, while the number of bacterial colonies in the ZIF-8, Cur-ZIF8, and Cur-ZIF8-HA groups was significantly reduced. Curcumin is well known for its antibacterial effect; then why the result is contradicting previous reports? It is indeed antibacterial, and the MIC is 62.5 μg/mL. To ensure that the concentration used by Cur is promoting the proliferation and migration of fibroblasts, a low (7.5 μg/mL) was selected.…”

“…In vitro tests showed that the hemolysis rates of ZIF-8, Cur-ZIF8, and Cur-ZIF8-HA were all lower than the acceptable value (5%) at concentrations of 5 and 10 μg/mL, which proved that they had good blood compatibility without any hemolysis. In addition to the hemolysis test and the toxicity assessment of normal cells, organic safety in mice has further studied whether the nanosystems have significant biological toxicity . After the treatment, H&E staining showed that compared with the control group, there were no histopathological changes in the main organs of mice (liver, heart, spleen, lung, and kidney) (Figure C).…”

“…In addition to the hemolysis test and the toxicity assessment of normal cells, organic safety in mice has further studied whether the nanosystems have significant biological toxicity. 37 After the treatment, H&E staining showed that compared with the control group, there were no histopathological changes in the main organs of mice (liver, heart, spleen, lung, and kidney) (Figure 3C).…”