Efficient water soluble O-carboxymethyl chitosan nanocarrier for the delivery of curcumin to cancer cells

Carboxymethyl chitosan derivatives are widely used for biomedical applications because of their non-toxic and biodegradable properties. Curcumin is a phytochemical with immense biological properties. But its hydrophobicity and poor oral bioavailability limits its application as a chemotherapeutic agent. To increase the oral bioavailability, we developed curcumin loaded O-CMC nanoparticles (curcumin-O-CMC Nps). The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by DLS, AFM, SEM, FT-IR, XRD and TG/DTA. Size analysis studies revealed spherical particles with mean diameter of about 150 ± 30 nm. Curcumin was entrapped in O-CMC with an efficiency of 87%. In vitro drug release profile was studied at 37 °C under different pHs (7.4 and 4.5) with and without lysozyme. Cytotoxicity studies by MTT assay indicated that curcumin-O-CMC Nps were toxic to cancer and non-toxic to normal cells. Cellular uptake of the curcumin-O-CMC Nps was analyzed by fluorescence microscopy and FACS. Overall these studies indicated O-CMC as a promising nanomatrix for drug delivery applications.