Synthesis of Nanocurcumin and Evaluation of its Properties for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Curcumin is a highly non-toxic, bioactive agent found in natural turmeric herb (Curcuma longa) and has been known for centuries as a household remedy to many ailments. However, it shows low solubility nature. The study aimed to develop a method to prepare curcumin nanoparticles to improve their aqueous-phase solubility and examine the effect of its anti-oxidant properties. Nano-curcumin was prepared by a process based on a wet-ball milling technique and was found to have a narrow particle size distribution in the range of below 150nm. Unlike curcumin, nanocurcumin was found to be readily dispersible in water in the absence of any surfactants. The chemical structure of nano-curcumin was obtained as same as that of natural curcumin, and there was no modification during nanoparticle preparation. The prepared yellow-colored nano-curcumin was analyzed by using various physio-chemical techniques. A low inhibitory concentration of nanocurcumin was determined for anti-oxidant strain which was compared with curcumin. It was decided that the aqueous dispersion of nanocurcumin was much more effective than curcumin is radical scavenging assays. The results demonstrated that the anti-oxidant activity and water solubility of curcumin markedly improved by particle size reduction up to the nano range. These results conclude that the ball-milled nano-curcumin is efficient for anti-oxidant application.