In vivo evaluation of curcumin nanoformulation loaded methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-chitosan composite film for wound healing application

In the present study, curcumin nanoformulation loaded methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-chitosan film (curcumin-MPEG-chitosan film) was developed and its applicability in the wound healing was investigated. In vitro cytotoxicity test showed that the developed MPEG-chitosan film was non-cytotoxic. Antioxidant efficiency tests revealed that the antioxidant efficiency of curcumin in the film did not show any significant difference compared with that of unmodified curcumin. Furthermore, in vivo wound healing test showed that the rate of wound reduction was greatly elevated with the rapid re-epithelialization in curcumin-MPEG-chitosan film group. Masson's Trichrome staining and the hydroxyproline measurement in the wound tissue also suggested that application of curcumin-MPEG-chitosan film could greatly increase the collagen synthesis compared with that of MPEG-chitosan film treatment. Therefore, all these results proved the effectiveness of curcumin-MPEG-chitosan film in the application of wound healing.

► A novel curcumin nanoformulation was developed absence of any stabilizer and surfactant.
► Curcumin nanoformulation loaded MPEG-CS composite film was developed and the potential application in the wound healing was investigated.
► Curcumin nanoformulation loaded MPEG-chitosan composite film provides excellent wound dressing activity and delivers curcumin topically to promote wound healing in a rat model.