Photo-responsive polymeric micelles for the light-triggered release of curcumin targeting antimicrobial activity

Jeffersson Krishan Trigo-Gutierrez; Italo Rodrigo Calori; Geovana de Oliveira Bárbara; Ana Claudia Pavarina; Renato Sonchini Gonçalves; Wilker Caetano; Antonio Claudio Tedesco; Ewerton Garcia de Oliveira Mima

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1132781

Photo-responsive polymeric micelles for the light-triggered release of curcumin targeting antimicrobial activity

Front Microbiol. 2023 Apr 20:14:1132781. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1132781. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jeffersson Krishan Trigo-Gutierrez¹, Italo Rodrigo Calori², Geovana de Oliveira Bárbara¹, Ana Claudia Pavarina¹, Renato Sonchini Gonçalves³, Wilker Caetano³, Antonio Claudio Tedesco², Ewerton Garcia de Oliveira Mima¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Department of Dental Materials and Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, Brazil.
² Department of Chemistry, Center of Nanotechnology and Tissue Engineering, Photobiology and Photomedicine Research Group, Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
³ Department of Chemistry, Research Nucleus of Photodynamic Therapy, State University of Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.

Abstract

Nanocarriers have been successfully used to solubilize, deliver, and increase the bioavailability of curcumin (CUR), but slow CUR release rates hinder its use as a topical photosensitizer in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy. A photo-responsive polymer (PRP) was designed for the light-triggered release of CUR with an effective light activation-dependent antimicrobial response. The characterization of the PRP was compared with non-responsive micelles comprising Pluronics™ P123 and F127. According to the findings, the PRP formed photo-responsive micelles in the nanometric scale (< 100 nm) with a lower critical micelle concentration (3.74 × 10^-4 M^-1, 5.8 × 10^-4 M^-1, and 7.2 × 10^-6 M^-1 for PRP, F127, P123, respectively, at 25°C) and higher entrapment efficiency of CUR (88.7, 77.2, and 72.3% for PRP, F127, and P123 micelles, respectively) than the pluronics evaluated. The PRP provided enhanced protection of CUR compared to P123 micelles, as demonstrated in fluorescence quenching studies. The light-triggered release of CUR from PRP occurred with UV light irradiation (at 355 nm and 25 mW cm^-2) and a cumulative release of 88.34% of CUR within 1 h compared to 80% from pluronics after 36 h. In vitro studies showed that CUR-loaded PRP was non-toxic to mammal cell, showed inactivation of the pathogenic microorganisms Candida albicans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and decreased biofilm biomass when associated with blue light (455 nm, 33.84 J/cm²). The findings show that the CUR-loaded PRP micelle is a viable option for antimicrobial activity.

Keywords: Photochemotherapy; bacteria; fungi; light; micelles.