Preparation of curcumin-loaded MPEG-PTMC nanoparticles: Physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, and in vivo pharmacokinetic behavior

Curcumin (Cur), an antioxidant molecule, has multiple medicinal properties and displays therapeutic values. However, in some functional food applications, the incorporation of Cur is limited because of its poor solubility and inherent physicochemical instability. Herein, to address these issues, PEGylated poly (trimethylene car-bonate) (MPEG-PTMC) was used as the polymeric carrier for fabricating the Cur loaded nanoparticles (MPEG-PTMC@Cur NPs). The MPEG-PTMC@Cur NPs had an average size of-130 nm. Importantly, after being incorporated in MPEG-PTMC@Cur NPs, the photochemical stability of Cur was significantly enhanced. The degradation rate of Cur was only about 15%. Furthermore, the MPEG-PTMC@Cur NPs exhibited improved DPPH scavenging ability (SC25 = 14.40 mu g/mL) compared with that of the free Cur (SC25 > 30 mu g/mL). Importantly, the pharmacokinetic study demonstrated that the oral relative bioavailability of MPEG-PTMC@Cur NPs was significantly improved. All these results support that MPEG-PTMC@Cur NPs could be an effective delivery system for Cur.