Elaboration of chitosan-coated nanoparticles loaded with curcumin for mucoadhesive applications

► Chitosan-coated nanoparticles loaded with curcumin were successfully prepared. ► Changes in size and zeta potential confirmed their decoration with chitosan. ► Light scattering studies showed monodisperse distributions of the nanoparticles. ► All the studied systems showed high encapsulation efficiency (99%). ► Strong interaction of chitosan-coated nanoparticles with bovine submaxillary mucin.