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Micelles of poly(ethylene oxide)‐ b ‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) as vehicles for the solubilization, stabilization, and controlled delivery of curcumin
Author(s) -
Ma Zengshuan,
Haddadi Azita,
Molavi Ommoleila,
Lavasanifar Afsaneh,
Lai Raymond,
Samuel John
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.31584
Subject(s) - micelle , curcumin , materials science , caprolactone , ethylene oxide , solubility , polymerization , amphiphile , copolymer , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , aqueous solution , organic chemistry , chemistry , polymer , biochemistry , engineering , composite material
Curcumin is recognized as a potential chemotherapeutic agent against a variety of tumors. However, the clinical application of curcumin is hindered due to its poor water solubility and fast degradation. The objective of this study was to investigate amphiphilic block copolymer micelles of poly(ethylene oxide)‐ b ‐poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) (PEO‐PCL) as vehicles for the solubilization, stabilization, and controlled delivery of curcumin. Curcumin‐loaded PEO‐PCL micelles were prepared by a cosolvent evaporation technique. PEO‐PCL micelles were able to solubilize curcumin effectively, protect the encapsulated curcumin from hydrolytical degradation in physiological matrix, and control the release of curcumin over a few days. The characteristics of resultant micelles were found to depend on the polymerization degrees of ϵ‐caprolactone. Among different PEO‐PCL micelles, PEO 5000 ‐PCL 24500 was the most efficient in solubilizing curcumin while PEO 5000 ‐PCL 13000 was the best carrier in reducing its release rate. PEO‐PCL micelle‐encapsulated curcumin retained its cytotoxicity in B16‐F10, a mouse melanoma cell line, and SP‐53, Mino, and JeKo‐1 human mantle cell lymphoma cell lines. These results demonstrated the potential of PEO‐PCL micelles as an injectable formulation for efficient solubilization, stabilization, and controlled delivery of curcumin. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2008