Synthesis of Curcumin Loaded Smart pH-Responsive Stealth Liposome as a Novel Nanocarrier for Cancer Treatment

• Main Authors: Ali Zarrabi, Atefeh Zarepour, Arezoo Khosravi, Zahra Alimohammadi, Vijay Kumar Thakur
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Fibers
• Subjects: smart drug delivery; mozafari method; herbal drug; liposome
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6439/9/3/19

The innovation of drug delivery vehicles with controlled properties for cancer therapy is the aim of most pharmaceutical research. This study aims to fabricate a new type of smart biocompatible stealth-nanoliposome to deliver curcumin for cancer treatment. Herein, four different types of liposomes (with/without pH-responsive polymeric coating) were synthesized via the Mozafari method and then characterized with several tests, including dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Zeta potential, and field emission scanning electron microscopes (FE-S EM). The loading and release profile of curcumin were evaluated in two pH of 7.4 and 6.6. Finally, the MTT assay was used to assess the cytotoxicity of the samples. FE-SEM results revealed a mean size of about 40 and 50 nm for smart stealth-liposome and liposome, respectively. The results of drug entrapment revealed that non-coated liposome had about 74% entrapment efficiency, while it was about 84% for PEGylated liposomes. Furthermore, the drug released pattern of the nanocarriers showed more controllable release in stealth-liposome in comparison to non-coated one. The results of the cytotoxicity test demonstrated the toxicity of drug-loaded carriers on cancer cells. Based on the results of this study, the as-prepared smart stealth pH-responsive nanoliposome could be considered as a potential candidate for cancer therapy.