Enhancing Curcumin Anticancer Efficacy Through Di-Block Copolymer Micelle Encapsulation
We report herein the development of a novel aqueous formulation and improved antitumor activity for curcumin by encapsulating it into a biocompatible and biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) based poly(anhydride-ester)-b-poly(ethylene glycol) (PAE-b-PEG) micelle. The resulting
curcumin loaded micelles were completely water-dispersible, overcoming the problem of poor water solubility that limited its efficacy and bioavailability. In vitro cellular studies revealed that the curcuminloaded micelles were taken up mainly via endocytosis route and exhibited higher cytotoxicities
toward model cancer cell lines (HeLa and EMT6) than free curcumin. An in vivo biodistribution study revealed that the curcumin-loaded micelles displayed significantly enhanced accumulation inside the tumor of EMT6 breast tumor-bearing mice. More impressively, the curcumin-loaded micelles showed
stronger antitumor activity, higher anti-angiogenesis effects and induced apoptosis on the EMT6 breast tumor model bearing mice than free curcumin. Furthermore, the curcumin-loaded micelles showed no significant toxicity towards hemotological system, major organs or tissues in mice. Combined
with a high antitumor activity and low toxic side-effects, the curcumin-loaded micelles developed here thus appear to be a highly attractive nanomedicine for effective, targeted cancer therapy.
Keywords: BIODISTRIBUTION; BLOCK COPOLYMER MICELLE; CANCER THERAPY; CURCUMIN; NANOMEDICINE
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 February 2014
- Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology (JBN) is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal providing broad coverage in all research areas focused on the applications of nanotechnology in medicine, drug delivery systems, infectious disease, biomedical sciences, biotechnology, and all other related fields of life sciences.
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