Improved Bioavailability of Curcumin in Gliadin-Protected Gold Quantum Cluster for Targeted Delivery

Abstract

This study deals with the synthesis of a gliadin-stabilized gold quantum cluster (AuQC) for the encapsulation of curcumin (CUR) and its targeted delivery to the cancer cell. CUR is an anticancer drug containing a hydrophobic polyphenol derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa . The utilization of CUR in cancer treatment is limited because of suboptimal pharmacokinetics and poor bioavailability at the tumor site. In order to improve the bioavailability of CUR, we have encapsulated it into AuQCs stabilized by a proline-rich protein gliadin because proline-rich protein has the ability to bind a hydrophobic drug CUR. The encapsulation of CUR into the hydrophobic cavity of the protein was confirmed by various spectroscopic techniques. Compared to CUR alone, the encapsulated CUR was stable against degradation and showed higher pH stability up to pH 8.5. The encapsulation efficiency of CUR in AuQCs was calculated as 98%, which was much higher than the other reported methods. In vitro drug release experiment exhibited a controlled and pH-dependent CUR release over a period of 60 h. The encapsulated CUR-QCs exhibited less toxicity in the normal cell line (L929) and high toxicity in breast cancer (MDA-MB239). Thus, it can be used as a potential material for anticancer therapy and bioimaging.

Self-Assembly Protein Superstructures as a Powerful Chemodynamic Therapy Nanoagent for Glioblastoma Treatment

“…The key technical challenge here is to develop an appropriate method to construct the protein superstructures, so that their biological activities can be retained. There have been crosslinked protein nanoparticles derived from gelatin [ 41 ], albumin [ 42 ], and gliadin [ 43 ]. The existing fabrication methods such as coacervation and desolvation usually unfold the proteins to decrease the intramolecular hydrophobic interactions.…”

Boosting the Skin Delivery of Curcumin Through Stearic Acid-Ethyl Cellulose Blend Hybrid Nanocarriers-Based Approach for Mitigating Psoriasis

“…From the DSC thermogram, it was found that curcumin (fig. 4A) exhibits a sharp endothermic peak at 185.22 °C, indicating its melting point, respectively [60]. The thermogram of the ethylcellulose (fig.…”

Natural Product-Based Hybrids as Potential Candidates for the Treatment of Cancer: Focus on Curcumin and Resveratrol

“…For example, the Cur and lipoic acid (LA) loaded gold–iron oxide nanocomposite developed by Ghorbani et al [ 102 ] has been functionalized with GSH to increase cellular uptake of the system in GSH receptor-positive astrocyte cells, thus ameliorating its ability to bypass the blood–brain barrier. Mahalunkar et al [ 105 ] and Mathew et al [ 103 ] employed folic acid (FA) in Cur-loaded systems projected to target cancer cells that overexpress membrane-associated FA receptors in comparison with normal tissues. Conjugation with the MUC-1 (mucin-1) aptamer has allowed the Cur-loaded system described by Alibolandi et al [ 101 ] to target colorectal adenocarcinoma cells since MUC-1 is overexpressed on several tumor cells and can modulate their invasive and metastatic potential.…”

“…FA, which has two free -COOH groups and is a tumor-targeting ligand, is particularly suited for this type of functionalization [ 142 ]. Mathew et al combined the targeting properties of FA and the excellent optical and delivery properties of Au quantum clusters (AuQCs) in a Cur-containing multifunctional hybrid system for anticancer therapy and bioimaging [ 103 ]. First, Au clusters of an average size of ~2 nm were coated with gliadin, a class of Pro- and Gln-rich proteins present in the wheat gluten with a high capability of binding hydrophobic molecules also due to the high content of nonpolar amino acids in its primary structure [ 143 ].…”

“…Moreover, it was effective in vitro against breast cancer cells (MDA-MB239) with the lowest toxicity against normal L929 cells (as they also express FA receptors). Cellular uptake studies also showed high efficacy toward cancerous cell lines (MDA-MB239 and C6 glioma cells) with respect to normal L929-normal cells [ 103 ].…”