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. 2020 Apr:109:110636.
doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2020.110636. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Long-circulating zein-polysulfobetaine conjugate-based nanocarriers for enhancing the stability and pharmacokinetics of curcumin

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Long-circulating zein-polysulfobetaine conjugate-based nanocarriers for enhancing the stability and pharmacokinetics of curcumin

Shanshan Chen et al. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Though curcumin has potential treatment value for most chronic diseases, it exerts little potency in the clinic because of its low aqueous solubility, high chemical instability and poor pharmacokinetics. To enhance its potency, we developed a zein-based micelle as a nanocarrier to encapsulate curcumin. Herein, superhydrophilic zwitterionic polymers, poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA), were conjugated to zein to obtain an amphiphilic zein-PSBMA conjugate. These conjugates could self-assemble into micelles composed of antifouling PSBMA shells and zein cores. The results from the cytokine secretion assay showed that the micelles induced a low level of macrophage activation. Moreover, the results from the in vivo fluorescence imaging experiment confirmed their long-circulating property, exceeding 72 h in mice. In comparison with native curcumin, micelle-encapsulated curcumin had a 230-fold increase in stability in vitro, and its half-life was 22-fold longer, according to a pharmacokinetic study on mice. Overall, this work presents a zein-PSBMA micelle with a long circulation time as a useful nanocarrier for effective curcumin delivery.

Keywords: Curcumin; Micelle; Zein; Zwitterionic polymer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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