Preparation and Characterization of Curcumin Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles for Photodynamic Therapy

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive tumor targeting strategy, in which tumor tissues can be selectively destroyed. Upon excitation with light of a specific wavelength, a photosensitizer can produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the presence of molecular oxygen, thereby exhibiting a cytotoxic effect toward the surrounding tissues, giving a total control on the onset of therapy. In this research work, curcumin as a natural photosensitizer has been investigated against cancer cells. To enhance the solubility of curcumin, a nanoformulation is developed using chitosan as biodegradable and biocompatible polymer that has the ability to encapsulate curcumin and improve its therapeutic effect. Physicochemical characterizations revealed that the prepared formulations were in the nanoscale range and had a positive ζ-potential. Upon irradiation using a novel LED device (λ ex ¼ 457 nm), curcumin nanoparticles were able to generate ROS and destroy tumor cells. Moreover, unloaded nanoparticles exhibited nonsignificant phototoxicity. These outcomes confirm the importance of curcumin nanoparticles in enhancing the efficacy of curcumin and offer new insights in the field of PDT against cancer.

Sensitivity of Papilloma Virus-Associated Cell Lines to Photodynamic Therapy with Curcumin-Loaded Liposomes

“…Despite its numerous therapeutic effects, the clinical benefits of curcumin are limited due to poor solubility, rapid metabolism, and systemic elimination of the native compound [24]. These limitations can be overcome by using different drug carriers to improve curcumin solubility [25][26][27]. Among such drug carriers, liposomes have been broadly studied showing promising therapeutic effects [28,29].…”

Photodynamic Therapy of Ovarian Carcinoma Cells with Curcumin-Loaded Biodegradable Polymeric Nanoparticles

“…These limitations can be overcome by the use of polymeric nanoparticles such as carrier systems, wherein the active substance is protected from degradation in the physiological environment and the bio-membrane permeability and cellular uptake of highly hydrophobic molecules are facilitated [17]. Several studies have revealed a remarkable enhancement of curcumin’s phototoxicity through nanoparticle encapsulation [22,23,24,25,26]. One such polymer is PLGA, which is an FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved biocompatible and biodegradable polymer [27,28].…”

Micronized curcumin fabricated by supercritical CO 2 to improve antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…The surface morphology and size of NPs are critical physicochemical properties that affect biomedical functions [28]. The surface morphology and size of the simples produced via SEDS were characterized by SEM ( Figure 2).…”