Antimicrobial efficacy of curcumin nanoparticles against Listeria monocytogenes is mediated by surface charge

Abstract

Curcumin, a hydrophobic phenolic compound isolated from tumeric (Curcuma longa), has gained a great attention due to its health benefits and antimicrobial effects. In this study, curcumin nanoparticles (CNPs) were formulated via acusto‐plastic deformation technique, with three differently surface‐charged surfactants‐sodium dodecylsulfate, Tween 20 and cetrimonium bromide (CTAB). The fabricated CNPs were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, one of the most severe foodborne pathogens. Our results demonstrated that the CNPs formulated with positively charged surfactant (CTAB) exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes, indicating that there is a strong relationship between surface charge and antimicrobial activity of curcumin. The enhanced antimicrobial action of CNPs‐CTAB was concluded to be due to the increased cell‐antimicrobial interaction, which resulted from the opposing electrical charges between CNPs‐CTAB and L. monocytogenes cells, as well as increased antimicrobial penetration endowed by the small size. Practical applications In this study, we showed that surface charge as well as the small size of curcumin nanoparticles play a key role in enhancing cell‐antimicrobial interaction and antimicrobial efficacy. The fabricated CNP‐CTAB showed the best antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes. A size reduction to nano‐scale is a recently developed strategy used to improve drug/food delivery and matching the public demand for effective and safe antimicrobial formulations for control of foodborne pathogens.

Nanocurcumin: A Promising Candidate for Therapeutic Applications

“…No et al described a relationship between surface charge and antimicrobial activity of nanocurcumin. Experimental data confirmed that positively charged curcumin nanoparticles showed better antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes (No et al, 2017).…”

Comprehensive Review on Current Interventions, Diagnostics, and Nanotechnology Perspectives against SARS-CoV-2

“… 191 Curcumin nanoformulations have been shown to have minimum inhibitory concentration of ∼1 mg/mL while the crude one had 350 mg/mL. 192 It reflects the superior anti-pathogenic activity of curcumin when encapsulated in nanoparticles. The PEGylated lipid formulations of curcumin have been found to be 10-fold more effective for malaria than crude curcumin.…”

Conjugation of micro/nanocurcumin particles to ZnO nanoparticles changes the surface charge and hydrodynamic size thereby enhancing its antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus

“…10b) [41,42]. Pandit et al also reported the improved antibacterial efficacy of micro/nanocurcumin over curcumin [45][46][47]. Similarly, micro/nanocurcumin exhibited improved antibacterial potential than curcumin against S. aureus at 200 μg/mL and 500 μg/mL concentration having 49% and 55% antibacterial activity (at sixth hour) with respect to control (Fig.…”

“…Gopal et al also demonstrated the improved antibacterial potential of nanocurcumin against S. aureus than macro-and microcurcumin [26]. Although several factors like size, solubility, stability, and method of synthesis determine antibacterial potential of nanocurcumin, literature survey suggests that the MBC of nanocurcumin against S. aureus ranges from 100 μg/mL, 250 μg/mL, to 608 μg/mL [45][46][47][48][49][50], the present study also exhibited that micro/nanocurcumin at 200 μg/mL and 500 μg/mL inhibited the S. aureus growth with almost 50% inhibitory potential compared to control (Fig. 10b).…”