Preparation of Curcumin-Loaded Liposomes and Evaluation of Their Skin Permeation and Pharmacodynamics

This study aimed to investigate the <em>in</em><em> vitro</em> skin permeation and <em>in vivo</em><em> </em>antineoplastic effect of curcumin by using liposomes as the transdermal drug-de...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lei Zhou, Xuan Liu, Ling Yuan, Zhenghai Zhang, Qingqing Wu, Yan Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2012-05-01
Series:Molecules
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/17/5/5972
Description
Summary:This study aimed to investigate the <em>in</em><em> vitro</em> skin permeation and <em>in vivo</em><em> </em>antineoplastic effect of curcumin by using liposomes as the transdermal drug-delivery system. Soybean phospholipids (SPC), egg yolk phospholipids (EPC), and hydrogenated soybean phospholipids (HSPC) were selected for the preparation of different kinds of phospholipids composed of curcumin-loaded liposomes: C-SPC-L (curcumin-loaded SPC liposomes), C-EPC-L (curcumin-loaded EPC liposomes), and C-HSPC-L (curcumin-loaded HSPC liposomes). The physical properties of different lipsomes were investigated as follows: photon correlation spectroscopy revealed that the average particle sizes of the three types of curcumin-loaded liposomes were 82.37 ± 2.19 nm (C-SPC-L), 83.13 ± 4.89 nm (C-EPC-L), and 92.42 ± 4.56 nm (C-HSPC-L), respectively. The encapsulation efficiency values were found to be 82.32 ± 3.91%, 81.59 ± 2.38%, and 80.77 ± 4.12%, respectively. An <em>i</em><em>n vitro</em> skin penetration study indicated that C-SPC-L most significantly promoted drug permeation and deposition followed by C-EPC-L, C-HSPC-L, and curcumin solution. Moreover, C-SPC-L displayed the greatest ability of all loaded liposomes to inhibit the growth of B16BL6 melanoma cells. Therefore, the C-SPC-L were chosen for further pharmacodynamic evaluation. A significant effect on antimelanoma activity was observed with C-SPC-L, as compared to treatment with curcumin solution <em>in vivo</em>. These results suggest that C-SPC-L would be a promising transdermal carrier for curcumin in cancer treatment.
ISSN:1420-3049