Nanoparticle drug delivery systems have drawn considerable attention worldwide due to their unique characteristics and advantages in anticancer drug delivery. Herein, the curcumin (Cur) loaded nanomicelles with two-stage drug release behavior were developed. β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) and cholesterol were conjugated onto both ends of the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chain to obtain an amphiphilic β-CD-PEG-Chol. The Cur was loaded into the cavities of β-CD and nanomicelle when the β-CD-PEG-Chol self-assembled to the Cur@β-CD-PEG-Chol nanomicelles (Cur@CPC NMs). These Cur@CPC NMs are spherical particles with a particle size of 120.9 nm. The Cur drug loading capacity of Cur@CPC NMs are 61.6 ± 6.9 mg/g. The release behavior of Cur from Cur@CPC NMs conformed to a two-stage mode of "burst-release followed by sustained-release". The prepared Cur@CPC NMs possess high storage stability and excellent hemocompatibility. Moreover, these Cur@CPC NMs exhibit satisfactory antioxidant activity and anticancer activity, resulting in significant reduction in intracellular H2O2-induced ROS and a nearly 50% lethality rate of HepG-2 cells. Meanwhile, the Cur@CPC NMs show good anti-inflammatory activity, by which the secretion of inflammatory factors of IL-6 and TNF-α are inhibited. Overall, the developed Cur@CPC NMs show application prospects in anticancer drug delivery systems.
Keywords: Drug delivery system; anti-inflammatory activity; antitumor activity; curcumin; intracellular antioxidant; two-stage drug release.