Introduction:For the real-time clinical utilization of curcumin (an ayurvedic natural product) to treat breast cancer, its dissolution, rate limited solubility, poor tissue absorption, and extensive in vivo metabolism that leads to its poor systemic bioavailability should be overcome. A polymer-based nanoparticle formulation using bovine serum albumin can increase its aqueous solubility and can achieve protected, sustained, and targeted therapy in breast cancer.Materials and Methods:Desolvation technique was optimized for the preparation of albumin nanoparticles. Particle size, drug release, encapsulation efficiency, drug polymer interaction were the in vitro properties that were determined. Cell culture studies, in vivo pharmacokinetics in rats were used for biological characterization of the formulation.Results:The formulations were successfully prepared using 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 drug: polymer ratios and the percent entrapment was found to be 74.76%, 91.01%, 85.36%, 86.42%, respectively, and particle size determined by zetasizer was found to be 225.1, 223.5, 226.3, 228.7 nm, respectively, and in vitro release was sustained for at least one month with drug release of 75.74%, 65.97%, 64.42%, 54%, respectively. The dissolution rate and aqueous solubility of curcumin was enhanced with this formulation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies demonstrated that the drug was not changed in the formulation during the fabrication process. The proliferation assays in MDA-MB-231 tumor cell lines indicated more effectiveness of the formulation compared to its solution form. In rats, albumin nanoparticles sustained drug release, demonstrated more bioavailability, improved pharmacokinetic properties, and enhanced tissue targetability of the drug.Conclusions:An effective curcumin-albumin nanoparticle formulation was successfully developed using a desolvation technique.

An analytical method using electrolyte cathode discharge atomic emission spectrometry (ELCAD-AES) has been described for the trace determination of thallium after improving its sensitivity. Parameters influencing the sensitivity of thallium are investigated at its emission wavelength of 377.572 nm. Maximum enhancement of sensitivity is obtained with the combination of a surfactant (Triton X-114) and potassium iodide. Sensitivity of thallium is improved 12 times with the use of an optimised composition of 3.5% v/v Triton X-114 and 0.2% w/v of KI. Under the optimized conditions, the achieved detection limit is 1 mg L À1 which is 100 times better compared to the detection limit obtained without addition of the surfactant and KI. The precision of the method is 2% for thallium of 500 mg L À1 concentration. The accuracy of the proposed method has been validated by analyzing a NIST 1633b coal fly ash certified reference material and a IAEA 394 coal fly ash material. On comparison, the ELCAD-AES results are found to be in agreement with the certified values and the results obtained by high resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-GFAAS). The detection limit of thallium for coal fly ash has been found to be 134 ng g À1 . Determinations of spiked thallium at trace levels in ground water samples are carried out by ELCAD-AES and HR-CS-AAS and the results are in agreement with each other.

A highly sensitive and novel sequential non-chromatographic speciation procedure has been developed for selective pre-concentration and separation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) from natural and wastewaters. In this procedure, Triton X-114 micelle and cetylpyridinium bromide-Triton X-114 mixed-micelle are used sequentially for the extraction of hydrophobic Cr(III)-trifluoropentanedione and hydrophilic Cr(VI), respectively. Inductively couple plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) is used for its determination. The parameters affecting the extraction process are optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the pre-concentration factors obtained are 50 and 15 while limits of detection (LOD) are 0.02 and 0.05 ng mL À1 for Cr(III) and Cr(VI), respectively. These LODs are better than those of IC-ICP-MS and comparable to those of IC-ICP-DRC-MS methods. The recoveries are in the range of 95 to 99% at 10 to 40 ng mL À1 with relative standard deviation of 2-4%. The accuracy of the procedure is validated by comparing the sum of the concentrations of each individual chromium species obtained from sequential extraction with total chromium in BCR certified reference materials such as Effluent-713, Influent-714 and Industrial effluent-715. The method was then applied to various water samples collected locally.