Developing micelles to deliver the drug curcumin to breast cancer cells

Background: it is now known that curcumin (Cur) has a broadrange of biological properties; however, photosensitivity, as well as lowbioavailability and short half-life, have limited its clinical application. Toovercome these problems the synthesis of poly(3-caprolactone)–Tween 80(PCL–T) copolymers was performed. Methods: the copolymers of PCL–T werecreated using the solvent evaporation/extraction technique. Then Cur wasloaded in PCL–T micelles (PCL–T-M) by a self-assembly method. Thecharacterization of copolymer and micelles was assessed by gel permeationchromatography (GPC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), protonnuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HNMR), differential scanningcalorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic lightscattering (DLS) methods. The MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay was used to indicate the cytotoxicity of thefree Cur, PCL–T-M, and Cur-loaded PCL–T-M. Results: TEM analysis showedmonodispersed and spherical shapes with a size of about 90 nm. Cur wasreleased from PCL–T-M at pH 7.4 (45%) and 5.5 (90%) during 6 days. After 24and 48 h, the IC50 of the free Cur, PCL–T-M, and Cur-loaded PCL–T-M onMCF-7 cells were 80.86 and 54.45 mg mL−1, 278.30 and 236.19 mg mL−1,45.47 and 19.05 mg mL−1, respectively. Conclusion: this study showed that, inthe same concentration, the effectiveness of the Cur-loaded PCL–T-M is morethan the free Cur, and the nano-system has been able to overcome deliveryobstacles of Cur drug. Thus, PCL–T-M can be a candidate as a drug carrier forthe delivery of Cur and future therapeutic investigations on breast cancer.

Developing micelles to deliver the drug curcumin to breast cancer cells Keywords:

Brest Cancer , micelle , Curcumin , Electrophoresis