pH responsive curcumin released from urea-amine group functionalized mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Natural products like curcumin show anticancer promise but face bioavailability challenges.
• Curcumin's low solubility, instability, and poor bioavailability limit its clinical cancer applications.
• Developing effective delivery systems is crucial for harnessing curcumin's therapeutic potential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a pH-responsive mesoporous organosilica nanocarrier (MON-A) for enhanced curcumin delivery.
• To investigate the loading capacity and pH-controlled release characteristics of curcumin-loaded MON-A (MON-A-Cur).
• To evaluate the stability and release profile of curcumin from the nanocarrier under different pH conditions.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and characterization of MON-A using TGA, BET, XRD, FT-IR, and SEM-EDS.
• Loading curcumin onto MON-A via Schiff base reaction for pH-controlled release.
• In vitro release studies of curcumin from MON-A-Cur at physiological (pH 7.4), endosomal (pH ~5.5), and acidic (pH 4.5) conditions.

Main Results:

• MON-A nanocarrier demonstrated strong interaction with curcumin, achieving 25% encapsulation efficiency.
• Minimal curcumin release (0.5%) observed at physiological and endosomal pH, indicating high stability.
• Significant curcumin release (26.3%) achieved at acidic pH (4.5), demonstrating pH-responsive behavior.
• MON-A successfully carried 99.5% of curcumin without leakage under physiological conditions.

Conclusions:

• The developed MON-A nanocarrier offers a promising platform for stable, pH-controlled delivery of curcumin.
• The Schiff base linkage facilitates strong curcumin-nanocarrier interaction and enables targeted release in acidic tumor microenvironments.
• This system overcomes curcumin's limitations, paving the way for improved cancer therapeutics.