Preparation and characterization of chitosan hollow nanospheres for anticancer drug curcumin delivery

•CS hollow nanospheres can be prepared via solid–liquid phase separation method.•CS nanospheres show mesopores and macropores on their interior and outer surfaces.•CS nanospheres have controlled releasing behavior of the curcumin.

Chitosan hollow nanospheres (CHNs) with diameter of 500–1000 nm and opening of 300–500 nm are synthesized via solid–liquid phase separation. The chemical composition, crystal structure, morphology, size and pore property, and the formation condition of the nanospheres have been examined. The CHNs have a specific surface area of 101.91 m2/g and show mesopores and macropores on their interior and outer surfaces. The methyl-thiotetrazole assay proves the low cytotoxicity of the CHNs. The CHNs show the maximum 63.9 wt% of the anticancer curcumin drug loading capacity. 87% of the loaded curcumin is released from the nanospheres over 50 h. The CHNs show potential applications in drug/gene delivery for cancer therapy.

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