Polymeric micelles of octenylsuccinated corn dextrin as vehicles to solubilize curcumin

Hydrophobized polysaccharides are promising substrates for the micellar entrapment of lipophilic food ingredients. In this study, we investigated the solubilization of curcumin with octenylsuccinated corn dextrin micelles. A Box-Behnken design was used to determine the dependence of the apparent solubility of curcumin on the operation parameter (the stirrer input power, IP) and the structural parameters (molecular weight, Mw, and degree of substitution, DS) of octenylsuccinated corn dextrin micelles. Additionally, the properties of curcumin-loaded octenylsuccinated corn dextrin micelles were characterized. The maximal apparent solubility of curcumin (4.44 μg/mL) encountered with an intermediate IP (4.0 W), Mw (10.4 × 104 Da) and DS (0.0302). The curcumin-loaded octenylsuccinated corn dextrin micelles were spherical in shape with a mean diameter of 247 nm. Lyophilization and reconstitution showed insignificant effect on polydispersity index and ζ-potential of the curcumin-loaded micelles (p > 0.05). Curcumin entrapped in octenylsuccinated corn dextrin micelles was in an amorphous state, as revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction. The results suggested that octenylsuccinated corn dextrin micelles displayed encouraging capacities as a nano-carrier for solubility enhancement of curcumin.