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Preparation and Characterization of Curcumin Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles for Photodynamic Therapy
Author(s) -
Duse Lili,
Baghdan Elias,
Pinnapireddy Shashank R.,
Engelhardt Konrad H.,
Jedelská Jarmila,
Schaefer Jens,
Quendt Peer,
Bakowsky Udo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201700709
Subject(s) - curcumin , photodynamic therapy , phototoxicity , photosensitizer , chitosan , nanoparticle , reactive oxygen species , chemistry , nanotechnology , materials science , in vitro , photochemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive tumor targeting strategy, in which tumor tissues can be selectively destroyed. Upon excitation with light of a specific wavelength, a photosensitizer can produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the presence of molecular oxygen, thereby exhibiting a cytotoxic effect toward the surrounding tissues, giving a total control on the onset of therapy. In this research work, curcumin as a natural photosensitizer has been investigated against cancer cells. To enhance the solubility of curcumin, a nanoformulation is developed using chitosan as biodegradable and biocompatible polymer that has the ability to encapsulate curcumin and improve its therapeutic effect. Physicochemical characterizations revealed that the prepared formulations were in the nanoscale range and had a positive ζ ‐potential. Upon irradiation using a novel LED device ( λ ex = 457 nm), curcumin nanoparticles were able to generate ROS and destroy tumor cells. Moreover, unloaded nanoparticles exhibited nonsignificant phototoxicity. These outcomes confirm the importance of curcumin nanoparticles in enhancing the efficacy of curcumin and offer new insights in the field of PDT against cancer.