P.R. Sarika

Gum arabic-curcumin conjugate micelles with enhanced loading for curcumin delivery to hepatocarcinoma cells.

Curcumin is conjugated to gum arabic, a highly water soluble polysaccharide to enhance the solubility and stability of curcumin. Conjugation of curcumin to gum arabic is confirmed by (1)H NMR, fluorescence and UV spectroscopy studies. The conjugate self assembles to spherical nano-micelles (270 ± 5 nm) spontaneously, when dispersed in aqueous medium. Spherical morphology of the self assembled conjugate is evidenced by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The self assembly of the amphiphilic conjugate into micelle in aqueous medium significantly enhances the solubility (900 fold of that of free curcumin) and stability of curcumin in physiological pH. The anticancer activity of the conjugate micelles is found to be higher in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells than in human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cells. The conjugate exhibits enhanced accumulation and toxicity in HepG2 cells due to the targeting efficiency of the galactose groups present in gum arabic.

Nanogels based on alginic aldehyde and gelatin by inverse miniemulsion technique: synthesis and characterization

Nanogels were developed from alginic aldehyde and gelatin by an inverse miniemulsion technique. Stable inverse miniemulsions were prepared by sonication of noncontinuous aqueous phase (mixture of alginic aldehyde and gelatin) in a continuous organic phase (Span 20 dissolved in cyclohexane). Cross-linking occurred between alginic aldehyde (AA) and gelatin (gel) in the presence of borax by Schiffs base reaction during the formation of inverse miniemulsion. The effects of surfactant (Span 20) concentration, volume of the aqueous phase and AA/gel weight ratio on the size of the alginic aldehyde-gelatin (AA-gel) nanoparticles were studied. Nanogels were characterized by DLS, FT-IR spectroscopy, TGA, SEM and TEM. DLS, TEM and SEM studies demonstrated nanosize and spherical morphology of the nanogels. Hemocompatibility and in vitro cytocompatibility analyses of the nanogels proved their nontoxicity. The results indicated the potential of the present nanogel system as a candidate for drug- and gene-delivery applications.

Preparation, characterization and biological evaluation of curcumin loaded alginate aldehyde-gelatin nanogels.

Curcumin, a natural polyphenol exhibits chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic activities towards cancer. In order to improve the bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy, curcumin is encapsulated in alginate aldehyde-gelatin (Alg Ald-Gel) nanogels. Alginate aldehyde-gelatin nanogels are prepared by inverse miniemulsion technique. Physicochemical properties of the curcumin loaded nanogels are evaluated by, Dynamic light scattering (DLS), NMR spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Curcumin loaded nanogels show hydrodynamic diameter of 431±8nm and a zeta potential of -36±4mV. The prepared nanogels exhibit an encapsulation efficiency of 72±2%. In vitro drug release studies show a controlled release of curcumin from nanogels over a period of 48h. Hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility of the nanogels are evaluated. Bare nanogels are cytocompatible and curcumin loaded nanogels induce anticancer activity towards MCF-7 cells. In vitro cellular uptake of the curcumin loaded nanogels using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) confirms the uptake of nanogels in MCF-7 cells. Hence, the developed nanogel system can be a suitable candidate for curcumin delivery to cancer cells.

Polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles from cationised gelatin and sodium alginate for curcumin delivery.

Self assembled hybrid polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) nanoparticles are prepared from cationically modified gelatin and sodium alginate (Alg) by electrostatic complexation between the polymers. Cationised gelatin (CG) is prepared by the reaction of gelatin with ethylenediamine. Structural changes in gelatin, after modification with ethylenediamine are investigated by XRD and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Hybrid polyelectrolyte nanoparticles, labeled CG/Alg, are prepared by simple mixing of CG and Alg. CG/Alg complex shows spherical morphology as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. These polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles can be used for the encapsulation and delivery of natural antioxidant curcumin to carcinoma cells. CG/Alg nanoparticles show curcumin encapsulation efficiency of 69% and exhibit sustained release of curcumin in vitro. Anticancer activity of curcumin loaded CG/Alg nanoparticles towards MCF-7 cells is disclosed by MTT assay. Intracellular uptake of the drug encapsulated nanoparticles is confirmed by fluorescent imaging.

Modified gum arabic cross-linked gelatin scaffold for biomedical applications

The present work deals with development of modified gum arabic cross-linked gelatin scaffold for cell culture. A new biocompatible scaffold was developed by cross-linking gelatin (Gel) with gum arabic, a polysaccharide. Gum arabic was subjected to periodate oxidation to obtain gum arabic aldehyde (GAA). GAA was reacted with gelatin under appropriate pH to prepare the cross-linked hydrogel. Cross-linking occurred due to Schiffs base reaction between aldehyde groups of oxidized gum arabic and amino groups of gelatin. The scaffold prepared from the hydrogel was characterized by swelling properties, degree of cross-linking, in vitro degradation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cytocompatibility evaluation using L-929 and HepG2 cells confirmed non-cytotoxic and non-adherent nature of the scaffold. These properties are essential for generating multicellular spheroids and hence the scaffold is proposed to be a suitable candidate for spheroid cell culture.

Curcumin loaded gum arabic aldehyde-gelatin nanogels for breast cancer therapy.

Curcumin, a widely studied hydrophobic polyphenol with anticancer potential is loaded in gum arabic aldehyde-gelatin (GA Ald-Gel) nanogels to improve its bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy towards cancer cells. Physicochemical properties of the curcumin loaded GA Ald-Gel nanogels are investigated by different techniques including dynamic light scattering (DLS), NMR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These nanogels exhibit hydrodynamic diameter of 452±8nm with a zeta potential of -27mV. The nanogels possess an encapsulation efficiency of 65±3%. Potential of the nanogels for controlled release of curcumin is illustrated by in vitro drug release studies. Hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility of the drug loaded nanogels are evaluated. In vitro cytotoxicity of the bare and curcumin loaded nanogels are analyzed by MTT assay towards MCF-7 cells. The results manifest that curcumin loaded nanogels induce toxicity in MCF-7 cells. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) studies indicate in vitro cellular uptake of the nanogels in MCF-7 cells. All these results prove the suitability of the curcumin loaded GA Ald-Gel nanogels for cancer therapy.

Preparation and characterisation of gelatin–gum arabic aldehyde nanogels via inverse miniemulsion technique

Gelatin-gum arabic aldehyde nanogels designed by a nanoreactor concept using inverse miniemulsion technique were reported. Stable separate miniemulsions were prepared from gelatin (Gel) and gum arabic aldehyde (GAA). These emulsions were intermixed under sonication to obtain cross-linked nanogels. During fusion, cross-linking occurred between aldehyde groups of GAA and amino groups of gelatin. The concentration of the surfactant and weight fraction of water in the inverse miniemulsion was optimised so as to yield nanogels with controlled particle size. Properties of the nanogels were studied by FT-IR spectroscopy, particle size analysis and XRD. Surface morphology of the nanogels was established by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). SEM and particle size analysis confirmed that nanogels possess spherical morphology with an average diameter of 151 ± 6 nm. Hemolysis property of the nanogels was examined and the results indicated that the nanogels were hemocompatible. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the nanogels towards MCF-7 cells was evaluated by MTT assay and the nanogels showed nontoxic behaviour towards the cells. All these studies confirm that these nanogels are potential candidates in applications such as drug and gene delivery.

A non-adhesive hybrid scaffold from gelatin and gum Arabic as packed bed matrix for hepatocyte perfusion culture.

Development of liver support systems has become one of the most investigated areas for the last 50 years because of the shortage of donor organs for orthotopic liver transplantations. Bioartificial liver (BAL) device is one of the alternatives for liver failure which provides a curing method and support patients to recover from certain liver failure diseases. The biological compartment of BAL is called the bioreactor where functionally active hepatocytes are maintained to support the liver specific functions. We have developed a packed bed bioreactor with a cytocompatible, polysaccharide-protein hybrid scaffold. The scaffold prepared from gelatin and gum Arabic acts as a packed bed matrix for hepatocyte culture. Quantitative evaluation of the hepatocytes cultured using packed bed bioreactor demonstrated that cells maintained liver specific functions like albumin and urea synthesis for seven days. These results indicated that the system can be scaled up to form the biological component of a bioartificial liver.