Curcuminoid Complexes: Applications in Medicine and Beyond

Curcumin is a strong anti-inflammatory and radical-scavenging compound primarily found in the spice turmeric. These properties are beneficial for the treatment of a variety of diseases and ailments. However, it is limited in medical applications due to poor bioavailability and stability. Adsorption onto nanoparticles and the formation of coordinate complexes are potential methods to improve both aspects while minimally affecting the desirable properties. Various methods and materials have been employed in the making of curcumin complexes, which are presented in this review. Metals, metal oxides, and metal chlorides are popular complexing reagents because they possess intrinsic medicinal and physical properties that are enhanced by complexation with curcumin, and their intrinsic toxicity can also be limited. Additionally, some of these complexes can be used to deliver other drugs or for enhancing medical imaging, as well as for coatings for electrodes and solar cells. Polymers and biomaterials have also been used as complexing agents, exhibiting multiple beneficial properties across a variety of applications, including drug delivery, cancer treatment, and cotton dyeing. A brief survey of the applications of machine learning in complexing material qualification and detection has also been conducted.