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 nontoxic 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-CMCNps 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 (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved