Fabrication and characterization of liposome as a dug nanocarrier system for curcumin delivery

Abstract

Curcumin (Cur) is classified as a polyphenols group which has been known for traditional medicine in many centuries. Curcumin shows its drawback of poorly water solubility that limits the pharmacokinetic activity in human body. In this study, liposome (Lp) nanoparticle was used as a drug delivery system in improving the bioavailability of Cur. Curcumin loaded liposome (Lp/Cur) was successfully prepared by the hydration thin film method. The components of phosphatidylcholine from soybean lecithin and cholesterol were used as lipid membrane and Tween 80 was used as stabilizer surfactant. After preparation, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) was used to determine the size distribution given an average size of 193.1 ± 62.34 nm in diameter and polydispersity index (PDI) was 0.148. The morphology of Lp was presented a spherical shape under transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the zeta potential was -37.8 ± 6.22mV, which indicated the good stability of liposomes (Lps) during storage time. The results showed that the drug loading efficient (DLE) of vesicle nanoparticle was 96 ± 1.1% based on the optimal ratio of drug loading content (DLC). The release test showed that there were significant time prolongations of Cur release from the Lp/Cur in comparison of the free drug. Overall, these findings suggest that liposomal curcumin may represent a promising candidate as a nanocarrier for drug delivery system in cancer therapy. Keywords: Liposome, curcumin, nanocarrier, cancer therapy.