Reducing agent-free synthesis of curcumin-loaded albumin nanoparticles by self-assembly at room temperature

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to prepare curcumin-loaded bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (CCM-BSA-NPs) by reducing agent-free self-assembly at room temperature. A 2⁴ factorial design approach was used to investigate the CCM-BSA-NP preparation process at different pH values, temperatures, dithiothreitol amounts, and CCM/BSA mass ratios. Increasing the ionic strength enabled preparation of CCM-BSA-NPs at 25°C without reducing agent. CCM-BSA-NPs prepared under the optimized conditions at 25°C showed a particle size of 110±6nm, yield of 88.5%, and drug loading of 7.1%. The CCM-BSA-NPs showed strong antioxidant activity and neuroprotective effects in glutamate-induced mouse hippocampal neuronal HT22 cells. This study suggests that ionic strength can be a key parameter affecting the preparation of albumin-based NPs.

Keywords: 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (PubChem CID: 2735032); Albumin nanoparticles; Antioxidant activity; Curcumin; Curcumin (PubChem CID: 969516); Dithiothreitol (PubChem CID: 19001); MTT Formazan (PubChem CID: 16218671); Neuroprotective effect; Self-assembly.