Formulation, optimization, and in vitro characterization of omega-3-rich binary lipid carriers for curcumin delivery: in vitro evaluation of sustained release and its potential antioxidant behavior

Curcumin is a natural polyphenol obtained from Curcuma longa which has gained much attention in medical and scientific fields and is known for its wide range of therapeutic applications. But the natural herb mixtures with high subatomic sizes have low retention limits which does not permit the restorative medication to cross the lipid membranes, subsequently bringing about low bioavailability with confined proficiency. Nanobiotechnology has overcome the drawbacks of curcumin delivery to its targeted site through the use of antioxidant-rich, biodegradable SLNs as drug delivery vehicle with specificity and expanded bioavailability that will encourage the dynamic release of therapeutic ingredients into the body. Herein, optimized curcumin-loaded SLNs (CuSLNs) were developed. The morphological analysis of SEM has shown the average particle size was found to be in the range of 71-112 nm. The physicochemical characteristics of optimized CuSLNs were particle size of 106 nm, zeta potential of - 54 mV, polydispersity index of 0.429 which have confirmed the nanoparticle stability. The FTIR, DSC, and XRD results have suggested the lipids are compatible and confirmed the complete solubilization of curcumin in the lipid phase. Encapsulation efficiency and drug loading capacity of optimized formulation were 88.22 and 13.13, respectively. In vitro release studies have shown the controlled drug release rate of 88% compared with free curcumin and 81% of in vitro antioxidant activity which is compared with the ascorbic acid. The studies confirmed that the formulation of CuSLNs is a promising drug delivery system with controlled drug release, improved bioavailability with good stability.